<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603818848868.png" alt="Law enforcement supporters and Black Lives Matter activists converged outside Topeka's city hall during August. Fort Hays State University's statewide survey shows 49% of Kansans believe Black Lives Matter sharpened the racial divide in the United States. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Law enforcement supporters and Black Lives Matter activists converged outside Topeka's city hall during August. Fort Hays State University's statewide survey shows 49% of Kansans believe Black Lives Matter sharpened the racial divide in the United States. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Deep support in poll for recreational marijuana, Medicaid expansion</h2>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/10/27/fhsu-survey-finds-trump-leading-in-kansas-half-say-blm-deepens-racial-divide/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — A <a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/docking/Kansas-Speaks/2020-kansas-speaks-report-v7">statewide poll of Kansans</a>
 revealed a majority support re-election of President Donald Trump, 
nearly half believe the Black Lives Matter movement deepened the 
nation’s racial divide and two-thirds endorse legalization of 
recreational marijuana.The annual survey by the 
Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University 
indicated 68.5% believe the state was heading in the right direction, 
which was a decline from 77% last year. Six of 10 people want Kansas 
political leaders to expand eligibility for Medicaid, and a comparable 
percentage wouldn’t complain if cigarette and alcohol taxes were 
increased.Brett Zollinger, the 
Docking Institute’s director and a co-author of the polling report, said
 the pre-election timing of the release Monday could be of benefit to 
voters.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603818914724.jpeg" alt="The annual survey of Kansans by Fort Hays State University indicates 66.9% of those polled are supportive of legalizing recreational marijuana for people 21 years of age or older. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The annual survey of Kansans by Fort Hays State University indicates 66.9% of those polled are supportive of legalizing recreational marijuana for people 21 years of age or older. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>“We hope that findings 
released ahead of the election are particularly interesting to Kansans 
now when so many of the public affairs issues covered in the survey are 
on Kansans’ minds as they solidify their voting intentions,” he said.The survey of 417 adult 
Kansas residents from Sept. 21 to Oct. 1 showed that Trump had a 14.4% 
lead over Democratic nominee Joe Biden among registered voters who 
planned to cast a ballot. The margin of error for the poll was 4.8%.The protests of Black 
Lives Matter left an impression on Kansans with 49% concluding that 
bringing attention to use of lethal force by law enforcement officers 
against Blacks made racial issues worse in the country. Only 17% in the 
survey said Black Lives Matter had improved race relations.The new survey of Kansans 
said 66.9% of participants would back legalizing recreational marijuana 
for people 21 years of age. On raising alcohol taxes, 62.5% said that 
wouldn’t be a terrible development. And, 66.1% didn’t have strong 
objection to higher cigarette taxes.In a repeat of last year’s
 Kansas Speaks question about Medicaid expansion, 63.5% would applaud 
broadening eligibility for the national health program serving 
low-income Kansans. Nearly 72% of people surveyed said the additional 
federal and state expenditures to health care providers would benefit 
Kansas hospitals.On the COVID-19 pandemic, 
the highest marks in the survey went to Anthony Fauci, director of the 
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, with 51.5% 
approving of his leadership. Trump’s approval rating in terms of the 
coronavirus that has killed an estimated 220,000 in the United States 
was 42.9%, while the work of Congress netted endorsement from just 16.9%
 of poll participants.Gov. Laura Kelly’s 
approval rating was 47.5% on the pandemic, while the Kansas Legislature 
was held in high regard on the issue by 26.7% of those polled. People in
 the survey said “their county” deserved a 38.6% approval rating. The 
same question of “my city” elicited a positive response from 42.3%.More than 70% agreed 
wearing a mask or face covering helped reduce the spread of COVID-19, 
but nearly 15% were convinced of the opposite.Tim Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 35 years. He covered the Capitol for 16 years at the Topeka Capital-Journal and previously worked for the Lawrence Journal-World and United Press International.

FHSU survey: Trump leading in Kan., half say BLM deepens racial divide