An overwhelming majority of Georgia voters believe politics played a big role in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ indictment of former President Donald Trump, a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey found.
But an even larger share of voters said that, all things being equal, they would not vote for a political candidate who has been convicted of a felony by a jury — a very real prospect as Trump confronts charges in criminal cases in Georgia and beyond.
About 69% of respondents said the charges against Trump are very serious or somewhat serious. About 68% said Trump was wrong to ask Georgia officials to change the outcome of the 2020 election.
Those are some of the key findings of an AJC survey of more than 1,000 likely general election voters in Georgia released this week. The telephone survey was conducted Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs Survey Research Center. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
The results offer a snapshot of voters’ thoughts two months after Willis indicted Trump and 18 other defendants on allegations they played a part in a “criminal enterprise” that sought to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia.
Willis’ investigation has come under fire from Republican elected officials in Georgia and Washington who say the charges against Trump are politically motivated. Some Georgia Republicans referred her for possible disciplinary action before a new oversight commission, though that complaint appears to be going nowhere for now.
The DA has denied that politics played a role in her decision to charge Trump. But the accusation resonates with many Georgia voters.
The AJC survey found about 59% of likely voters believe politics played a “big role” in Trump’s Georgia indictment. An additional 19% said politics played “some role.”
“At this point it just seems political,” South Fulton resident Zina Mulbah said. “While we have a legal system that should help us live as ethical, moral beings, we still could use it as a weapon against someone we don’t like. There needs to be equal justice across the board.”
Not surprisingly, there was a big partisan split on the role of politics in the indictment. More than 9 in 10 Republicans said politics played a big role — a finding that echoed an AJC survey of Republican voters released in August. In the latest survey, just 29% of Democrats agreed politics played a big role.
Partisans also disagreed on the seriousness of the charges against Trump. About 88% of Democrats said the charges are “very serious,” while just 17% of Republicans agreed. Overall, a slim majority — 52% — of Georgia voters said the charges are very serious.
Fayette County resident Dwight Hooper said the Trump indictment was “absolutely fair.” He cited the January 2021 phone call in which Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the 11,780 votes he needed to defeat Biden. And he can’t understand how some people can excuse Trump’s actions.
“I’m not a lawyer at all, but you know that’s wrong,” Hooper said. “To kind of let that go, I don’t get it.”
Biden’s narrow victory over Trump was confirmed by two recounts, including a hand count of every ballot cast. Nonetheless, Trump falsely claimed the election was rife with fraud and repeatedly pressured Georgia officials to overturn the result.
That effort ultimately led Willis to charge Trump and others in a 41-count indictment. Since then, four defendants have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify in future proceedings.
Michael Hill of Douglas County thinks prosecutors could have charged Trump with more crimes.
“Although he wasn’t too bad for your pocket, as far as money was concerned, he was tearing the nation apart,” Hill said.
But DeKalb County resident Dawn Nguyen believes the charges against Trump are politically motivated.
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “What they’re trying to indict him for — it’s all BS. None of it is legit.
“If they try, all of those other Democrats should be indicted, but they get away with everything,” Nguyen added.
That sentiment echoes another finding from the AJC survey: Only about 42% of voters are very confident or somewhat confident that a U.S. Justice Department investigation of Hunter Biden — the president’s son — is being conducted in a fair and nonpartisan manner.
The younger Biden appeared ready to plead guilty to tax evasion and gun charges in the summer, but a plea deal collapsed. The Justice Department later appointed a special counsel to investigate him.
Despite the various charges against Trump, he’s neck and neck with Joe Biden in Georgia in a potential 2024 rematch, the AJC survey found. But the news is not all good for Trump.
About 64% said, if all things were equal, they would not vote for a political candidate who has been convicted of a felony crime by a jury.
Trump faces criminal charges in four separate cases. In August, the U.S. Justice Department indicted Trump in its own election interference case. The Justice Department also has charged the former president on allegations he mishandled classified information. And a New York prosecutor has charged Trump in a case alleging he made illegal hush-money payments to a former porn star.
The federal election interference case is set to be the first to go to trial on March 4 — in the midst of the presidential primary season.
Still, a quarter of survey respondents said they would support a candidate who had been convicted of a crime.
“I’d absolutely support him if he’s convicted,” said Angela Stepp of Thomaston. “I think he’s an outsider. He wasn’t a politician. He was someone who could relate to the American people, and the ‘deep state’ doesn’t like that.”
Staff writer Greg Bluestein contributed to this article.
THE RESULTS
AJC poll
The poll was conducted Oct. 26-Nov. 3 for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs. It questioned 1,002 likely voters in the general election and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
As you may know, Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury and a Fulton County grand jury on charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Do you think the charges against Donald Trump in this case are:
Very serious — 52%
Somewhat serious — 17%
Not too serious — 7%
Not serious at all — 21%
Don’t know — 3%
How big a role, if at all, do you think politics played into the decision to indict Trump in Georgia?
Big role — 59%
Some role — 19%
No role — 20%
Don’t know — 2%
How confident are you that the U.S. Justice Department is handling its investigation of Hunter Biden in a fair and nonpartisan manner?
Very confident — 15%
Somewhat confident — 27%
Not so confident — 14%
Not confident at all — 38%
Don’t know — 6%
If all other things were equal, would you vote for a political candidate who has been convicted of a felony crime by a jury?
Yes — 25%
No — 64%
Don’t know — 11%
Do you think Donald Trump behaved appropriately by calling officials in Georgia to ask them to change the 2020 election outcome in the state?
Yes — 21%
No — 68%
Don’t know — 11%
Poll information: The survey was administered by the School of Public and International Affairs Survey Research Center at the University of Georgia. The AJC-SPIA Poll was conducted Oct. 26-Nov. 3 and included a total of 1,002 likely voters in the general election in Georgia. The calculated margin of error for the total sample is +/-3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Some totals may not equal 100% because of rounding.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
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