As we near the three-week mark since convicted felon Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 criminal counts by a Manhattan jury, it appears that the verdict is indeed dragging down the failed former president’s polls numbers, especially among a key bloc of voters.
Politico, in conjunction with Ipsos, released the results of their latest poll this morning, and it shows that 21 percent of independent voters say Trump’s conviction makes them less likely to vote for him and will also play an important role in who they cast their ballot for this November.
“Among the most notable findings in our poll: 21 percent of independents said the conviction made them less likely to support Trump and that it would be an important factor in their vote. In a close election, small shifts among independent and swing voters could determine the outcome.”
Additionally, while Trump and his allies have repeatedly attempted to sow distrust of the American judicial system, respondents remain confident in it, with one glaring exception: The U.S. Supreme Court.
“But the least trusted actors in the legal system are not the lawyers prosecuting or defending the cases, or even the kind of state judges presiding over Trump’s case. They are the Supreme Court justices themselves, whose public approval has taken a considerable hit in recent years thanks to unpopular rulings issued by the conservative supermajority and a series of rolling ethical controversies involving Republican appointees Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.”
The responses from independents should terrify Trump’s campaign brain trust, Politico notes.
“Thirty-two percent of them said that the conviction made them less likely to support Trump. Only 12 percent of them said that it made them more likely to support Trump.”
The new poll also shows that just having a conviction on his record could drive voters away from Trump, which is reflected in the 21 percent who told Ipsos the former president being a felon matters to their vote and makes them less likely to support him when they cast their ballot.
If the upcoming election is as close as the one we saw in 2020, that 21 percent could prove decisive, especially in key battleground states such as Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all of which are in play at the moment.
