Michiganders Less Likely To Vote For Candidates Downplaying Capitol Riot, Poll Says

MICHIGAN — A new poll released Thursday shows Michiganders are less likely to vote for a candidate supporting former President Donald Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him and those who oppose Congress' work investigating the Capitol Riot.

Defend Democracy Project’s poll showed that 82 percent of Michiganders know about the work of the bipartisan Capitol Riot special congressional committee, which is investigating and holding hearings into Trump’s role in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The Public Policy poll showed 57 percent of Michiganders support the investigation and another 66 percent believe the investigation is important to protect their right to vote. In addition, nearly half, 49 percent, believe members of the Republican Party also contributed to the Capitol Riot along with Trump.

Independent voters also showed similar findings, in that 46 percent believe Trump loyalists in the Republican Party were part of the problem, as opposed to just Trump himself. Only 8 percent of those voters believe Trump was solely responsible for the attack, according to the poll.

Overall, 52 percent believe Trump and his loyalists contributed to the Capitol Riot and should be criminally prosecuted. Additionally, 52 percent said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who downplayed the events of the Capitol Riot and opposed the House of Representatives’ work in investigating it. Just 16 percent said they would be more likely to vote for such a candidate.

"It goes against everything we cherish as Americans to see these people trying to overturn elections results from the White House to the state House— criminally robbing Americans of their right to vote, and to have their vote count," Lasinski said. "And the evidence is mounting that Trump and his enablers, including some in Michigan, may have broken the law in their desperate and coordinated attempts at staying in power against the will of the people."

Although Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon has shifted her position on whether the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, 58 percent of voters are still concerned that she once peddled the stolen election conspiracy.

"Our polling shows that 58 percent of Michigan voters are concerned – with 53 percent very concerned – about Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon insisting that the 2020 election was 'stolen' from Donald Trump, without evidence," polling analyst Jim Wiliams said. "This is not just a partisan issue – we're seeing broad concern among Democrats and Independent voters about what happened on January 6."

Republican candidate for Attorney General, Matthew DePerno has also propagated the stolen election conspiracy and was accused by officials of gaining unauthorized access to voting tabulators after the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has called for a special prosecutor to investigate.

The group surveyed 555 Michigan voters between Aug. 5 and Aug. 6, with the margin of error being ±4.2 percent. Of the 555 voters surveyed, 38 percent identified as a Democrat, 29 percent as a Republican and 32 percent as an independent.