While a sizable percentage of viewers have tuned into the House hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, they have turned out to be a dud for the political parties and failed to raise concerns about the midterm elections in the fall.
Two new polls out Thursday show that voters have generally moved on from the 2020 elections and their aftermath, though Republicans appear to be somewhat interested in the concerns raised by former President Donald Trump.
The latest Rasmussen Reports survey, for example, found that the hearings haven’t helped Democrats much in winning new voters eager to punish Republicans for the riots egged on by former President Donald Trump and some of his allies as he sought to overturn the 2020 results.
Rasmussen found that after watching the hearings, 34% of likely voters were more inclined to vote for Democrats in the fall congressional midterm elections. But the pollster also found that 30% said they are more likely to vote Republican after tuning into the hearings.
Voters couldn’t even agree that the riots were a major threat to democracy. According to the analysis: “Forty-seven percent (47%) of voters believe the Capitol riot represented a threat to American democracy, while 43% don’t think so and another 10% are not sure. These findings are only slightly changed from January, when 50% said the Capitol riot was a threat to democracy.”
Meanwhile, the Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service Battleground Civility Poll, also issued Thursday, said that most voters believe that the 2022 elections will be peaceful and fair despite what Trump has said about 2020 and what they’ve seen about Jan. 6.
That extensive survey indicated that 58% agreed with the statement: “Even though there were some problems in 2020, I think the elections in 2022 are going to be peaceful.”
And two-thirds of people expect the elections to be “fair,” according to the bipartisan survey.
