DCCC Releases New National Poll: House Republicans Damned if they Do, Damned if They Don’t

Regardless of Whether House GOP Withdraw or Maintain Trump Support Since Video – Voters View It as Political, Too Little & Too Late

A new national poll conducted by Global Strategy Group for the DCCC confirms that voters will hold House Republicans accountable for Donald Trump’s behavior and their inability to stand up to him in this election.

The nationally representative poll of likely voters, conducted in the aftermath of the Trump video and the presidential debate on Sunday evening, makes it clear that voters view House Republicans’ last-minute withdrawal of support for Trump for what it is: a craven political act of self-preservation that comes far too late.  This holds whether the Republican has expressed support for Trump in the past or refused to take a stand. Not surprisingly, voters are also troubled if the Republican still stands with him now. The survey also confirms that the national environment is positive for Democrats, with the Democrat leading the Republican on the congressional generic ballot by 7 points.

“It’s clear that House Republicans are tied to Donald Trump and have no way to separate from him.  Voters see this for what it is: a failure of the Republican Party to stand up to Trump’s hateful campaign and ugly attacks during this entire election.  Any desperate attempt to run from Trump now will be viewed for exactly what it is – a political move that comes too little, too late – and voters simply aren’t buying it,” said Kelly Ward of the DCCC.

Key Takeaways:

• Similar to polling released by multiple public pollsters and national news organizations, the national environment has clearly moved in Democrats’ direction since the release of the Trump video on Friday.
  • In the GSG survey, a generic Democrat defeats the generic Republican by a 7-point, 49% to 42% margin.
• The Trump video – and the ensuing withdrawal of support from Trump by many Republicans – have put Republican candidates for Congress in a perilous position no matter what they do.
  • The DCCC-commissioned survey tested head-to-head ballots, pitting a generic Democrat against three types of Republican candidates
  • Against a Republican “who continues to endorse Donald Trump” the Democratic margin moves from a 7-point advantage to a 12-point advantage.
  • Similarly, against a “Republican candidate who had supported Trump previously, but just withdrew their support” the Democratic margin moves from a 7-point advantage to a 12-point advantage.
  • Finally, even against a “Republican candidate who never formally endorsed Donald Trump and now says they won’t vote for him” the Democratic margin moves from a 7-point advantage to a 10-point advantage.
• The reason voters hold House Republicans similarly accountable, regardless of their reaction since Trump video bombshell, is that voters believe Republicans withdrawing Trump support are doing it for political reasons and for self-preservation – not because they have character or integrity.
  • Voters overwhelmingly believe that Republicans who previously failed to stand up to Trump, but are now withdrawing their support, made that decision because of politics:
    • 61% of voters say “that these Republicans lack character and integrity and are now only withdrawing their support for Trump because it’s politically popular to do so”
    • Meanwhile, just 39% of voters say “That these Republicans are showing character and integrity for finally standing up to Donald Trump”
    • This is especially true among Independent voters – 73% of whom say that Republicans are only doing this for political reasons.

You can find the polling memo HERE.