Most Iowa Republican caucus-goers say Trump fit to be president if convicted

[January 16, 2024]   By Jason Lange and Alexandra Ulmer
 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Most Republicans at Iowa's caucus said they felt Donald Trump would be fit for the White House even if he were convicted of a crime, an entrance poll showed on Monday, underscoring the strong hold the former president has on the Republican Party.  

A person votes for Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump at a caucus site to choose a Republican presidential candidate at Fellows Elementary School, in Ames, Iowa, U.S. January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

About two-thirds of caucus-goers also said they did not believe Democratic President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election, according to the poll.

Following are highlights from the Edison Research poll based on interviews with 1,628 Iowa Republicans.

* 66% said they did not think Biden legitimately won the presidency in 2020.

* 65% said they decided who to support in the presidential nomination contest before this month.

* 65% said Trump would still be fit to be president if he were convicted of a crime. 31% said he would be unfit if convicted.

* 61% said they favor a federal law that would ban abortions nationwide.

* 53% of white caucus-goers who considered themselves evangelical or born-again Christians supported Trump, while 27% backed DeSantis.

* 46% of voters said they considered themselves part of the MAGA movement, a reference to Trump's Make America Great Again slogan. 50% said they were not part of that movement.

* Trump led Haley and DeSantis by double digits among men and women alike. But among college graduates Trump was preferred by about 37% of caucus-goers, compared to 28% for Haley and 26% for DeSantis.

* 38% percent of caucus-goers said the economy was the issue that mattered most in deciding who to vote for on Monday, compared to 34% who cited immigration, while the rest cited foreign policy or abortion.

* 14% said the most important quality a Republican presidential nominee should have is the ability to beat Biden, compared to 41% who said shared values mattered most.

Edison Research conducted the poll on behalf of the National Election Pool, a consortium of news organizations including Reuters.

(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington and Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Deepa Babington)

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