Poll: Impeachment Ranks Dead Last on List of Issues Independent Voters Care About
Support for impeaching President Donald Trump has slipped significantly among independent voters, recent polling shows.
A survey conducted by Politico/Morning Consult found that just 27 percent of independents listed it as a top priority among the 11 issues they were asked to rank, according to Vanity Fair, which analyzed the data.
Another 10 percent listed it as a priority, but not a top one.
“In the abstract, 37% saying that an issue is a priority doesn’t sound too bad, but among the 11 issues that Politico and Morning Consult tested, impeachment ranked last, well below the deficit at 74%, health care at 72%, and infrastructure at 70%,” Vanity Fair reported.
Further, by a 62 percent to 22 percent margin, independents agreed impeachment is “more important to politicians than it is to me.”
Overall, independents oppose impeachment and Trump’s removal from office by a margin of 46 percent to 39 percent.
By contrast, a Gallup poll taken in October found independents favoring Trump’s removal 53 percent to 44 percent.
The political data analysis site FiveThirtyEight’s calculations measuring support for impeachment based on an average of national polls show numbers similar to the Politico/Morning Consult survey.
The results for Tuesday had approximately 83 percent in favor among Democrats, 12 percent among Republicans and 44 percent among independents.
The highest mark for independents was hit in late October, at approximately 48 percent.
The Hill reported Sunday that independents are “souring” on impeachment, pointing both to FiveThirtyEight’s calculations and a survey conducted by YouGov showing independents’ support dropping from 39 percent to 35 percent.
“All of these numbers are consistent with other trends that suggest Democrats are losing the impeachment debate, particularly in swing states and districts,” GOP pollster Chris Wilson told The Hill.
Independents make up 38 percent of the electorate, according to Gallup, compared to 31 percent who identify as Democrats and 30 percent who say they’re Republicans.
Trump tweeted a quote regarding impeachment from Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade on Monday morning.
“The Democrats are getting hit and slammed on Impeachment. It is getting less and less popular by the day,” Trump wrote, attributing the words to Kilmeade.
“The Democrats are getting hit and slammed on Impeachment. It is getting less and less popular by the day.” @kilmeade @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2019
All the polling showing a slip in support among independents came after public hearings began earlier this month in the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry.
Whether these numbers will dissuade Democrats from taking an impeachment vote in the full House has yet to be seen. But based on current polling, Trump’s attitude may well be: Bring it on!
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