PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A new poll indicates Americans are almost evenly divided on whether the government should lift its offshore drilling moratorium for the Gulf of Mexico.
The latest Gallup Poll, released Wednesday, found 49 percent of Americans are in favor of allowing drilling in the gulf to resume and 46 percent are against it.
Fifty-four percent of the men polled said they favored lifting the drilling ban compared with 41 percent of women.
Gallup said the results indicate a significant gender gap.
Breaking down the respondents by political party, Gallup found that 66 percent of Republicans favor lifting the ban while 64 percent of Democrats oppose doing so.
Forty-eight percent of respondents said they disapproved of President Barack Obama's handling of the spill and 44 percent approved.
The latest Gallup poll is based on telephone interviews of 1,074 adults aged 18 or older conducted August 14-15. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points..
