Poll: 72% of MAGA Voters Would Back Republican Candidate Accused of Domestic Violence

Jose Luis Magana/AP photo

A Politico poll, released Thursday, found that nearly three-quarters of self-identified MAGA voters would continue supporting a Republican candidate accused of domestic violence.

According to the survey, conducted by Public First, 72% of MAGA voters — big fans of President Donald Trump — said they would still vote for a Republican candidate accused of domestic violence if the midterms were held tomorrow. That figure was notably higher than the 61% of Trump 2024 voters overall who said the same. Among former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 voters, by contrast, just 39% said they would continue backing a Democratic candidate accused of domestic violence.

The survey found a similar divide over allegations of sexual assault. 66% of MAGA voters said they would stick with a Republican candidate accused of sexual assault, compared with 53% of Trump voters overall and 40% of Harris voters who said they would continue supporting a Democratic candidate facing the same accusation.

Those were among the more striking findings in a poll that tested voter reactions to a dozen hypothetical scandals.

None of the scenarios pushed support among MAGA respondents below a majority. 82% said they would still back a GOP candidate who used legal tax loopholes, 76% said they would support one with a previous DUI conviction, 75% would stick with a candidate who accepted gifts from lobbyists, and 74% said they would remain behind candidates photographed wearing blackface or accused of workplace bullying. Even 58% said they would continue supporting a Republican candidate who made antisemitic statements, while 57% said the same of a candidate who shared classified information with a foreign government.

The poll also highlighted a sharp partisan double standard when voters were asked whether candidates from each party should leave the race over identical scandals.

71% of Republicans said a Democratic candidate accused of sexual assault should drop out. Yet when asked that same question about a Republican candidate, only 52% agreed. Democrats also showed a partisan split, though a much smaller one, with respondents generally about five percentage points more likely to say Republicans should withdraw than Democrats accused of the same misconduct.

The poll, conducted from July 12-15, surveyed 2,061 U.S. adults online with an overall margin of error of ±2.16 percentage points.

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