Poll: Voters support Keystone XL pipeline 60-30

The Keystone XL pipeline has landslide support from South Dakota voters, an Argus Leader-KELO-TV poll says.

A statewide survey shows 60 percent backing for the project, with 30 percent opposed and 10 percent undecided.

The pipeline is not on the Nov. 4 ballot, but it is a hot button issue in South Dakota and in national politics because of President Obama's reluctance to endorse the project.

The pipeline would carry oil from Canada to refineries in the southern United States. The path would cross South Dakota underground from north to south on the way. Supporters say the project would boost the South Dakota economy with construction jobs. It also could help reduce American dependence on the international petroleum market, particularly politically volatile areas in the Middle East. Opponents say it would disrupt nature and jeopardize the environment. They consider it a shortsighted development in light of long-range risks.

Gyle Horst, 51, a Sioux Falls man who works in industrial maintenance, said the pipeline to ship oil would open up the transportation system for other needs.

"I'm in favor of Keystone because it would free up a lot of the rail car system for farmers to get their product out of the area. It would open up trucking in South Dakota and North Dakota," Horst said.

Paige Dumdie, 26, a barista in a Sioux Falls coffee shop, considers the pipeline ill-advised. Local jobs from building it are less important than the negative consequences, she said.

"I care about the environment," she said. "Without the environment to live in, we won't have jobs either. There are better and different options."

Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C., conducted the poll Oct. 20-23 by interviewing 800 registered South Dakota voters by telephone. Results show men favoring the pipeline by 66-27 percent, women 54-33, Republicans 79-15 and independents 62-28. Democrats in the poll were 51-32 percent against it. The overall result showing a 60-30 split has a 3.5 percent margin of error.