One in 10 Republicans Less Likely to Vote for Trump

New poll finds some dissatisfaction after former president's guilty verdicts
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 1, 2024 7:00 AM CDT
10% of GOPers Less Likely to Cast Trump Vote Post-Verdict
Former President Trump speaks during a news conference at Trump Tower on Friday in New York.   (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

All eyes are on Republican voters after Donald Trump was found guilty this week of 34 felony charges related to his hush-money trial. According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, the bloom is coming off the rose for some on the former president. In the survey of 2,500-plus adults nationwide conducted following Thursday's conviction, 10% of registered Republicans say the verdict makes them less likely to vote for Trump in November. Meanwhile, 35% say the conviction makes them more likely to vote for him, while 56% say the verdict has no bearing on their vote. "The potential loss of a tenth of his party's voters is more significant for Trump than the stronger backing of more than a third of Republicans, since many of the latter would be likely to vote for him regardless of the conviction," the outlet notes. Per the poll, 41% of all voters would vote for President Biden if the vote were held today, with 39% for Trump. Related:

  • Former supporters? PBS talked to nine GOP voters who cast their ballots for Trump in both 2016 and 2020 to gather their thoughts after the verdict. Five of the nine said Trump's conviction made them less likely to vote for him, while one man from the group said the verdict made it more likely that he'll vote Trump. "I'm tired of the lies. I'm tired of the nonsense," one of the newly disillusioned voters notes. "Now that he is a convicted felon, he's completely unfit. ... Knock it off, Republicans. Find somebody else." Six of the nine voters said they'd now pick Biden over Trump.

  • Experts weigh in: Politico talked to nearly two dozen of them to gather their thoughts on what the verdict could mean for this year and beyond. One history professor's take: "A lot would have to go wrong for Biden to lose reelection." A counterpoint, from an author and TV analyst: "Trump has gained strength each time he's been thrown to the ground."
  • 'A new test for Republicans': The BBC dives into that, noting the "weather balloon" being sent up on how GOP politicians are reacting to the verdict. "The historic nature of Trump's criminal conviction is being leveraged by his campaign as a sort of roll-call vote to see which politicians will defend the former president and which of them will defend America's legal system," the outlet notes.
(More Donald Trump 2024 stories.)

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