After the first two public impeachment hearings, House Democrats say they are at peace with poll numbers showing their efforts haven’t won over large swaths over voters.
“I think people would be very poorly served if they’re counting on polls today,” Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott told the Washington Examiner. “They’ll change. You have to take a very deliberate approach. Do what you think is the right thing. And then whatever the polls say later on, they’ll say, ‘I don’t think you can count on polls to be at all reliable.’ More information is going to come out.”
Since the House Democratic majority formalized impeachment proceedings, polls measuring the public’s support have shown a slight uptick in backing, but not significantly so. And a Nov. 8-9 Hill-HarrisX poll shows most Democrats believe that Trump will finish his term, ending Jan. 20, 2021. That marked a 7-point spike compared to the numbers of an identical poll in October.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who initially did not support going down an impeachment investigation path, told reporters at her weekly press briefing Thursday that the impeachment of Trump by Democrats isn’t a done deal.
“We haven’t even made a decision to impeach,” said the California lawmaker. “That’s what the inquiry is about. The committees will decide that. They will decide what the articles are.”
Republicans are now targeting first-term House Democrats in swing districts who supported the impeachment investigation.
“It will have a direct impact on 31 Democrats that won in Trump districts,” North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows told the Washington Examiner.
For example, four Republicans are running for the right to challenge first-term Michigan Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in a Lansing-based district. GOP candidates have gone after Slotkin’s support of the impeachment proceedings in a district that before her Slotkin’s 2018 win had been held by Republicans for 18 years.
And in Maine, Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, another freshman member, is facing attacks due to his support for impeachment from the anti-tax group Club for Growth.
