Most Republican Sen. Josh Hawley voters in Missouri believe he should resign after leading the effort to oppose the 2020 election result after the Jan. 6 insurgency at the U.S. Capitol, according to a new poll by Data For Progress, the liberal voting store.
The Data For Progress poll, shared exclusively with The Daily Beast, finds that 51% of likely voters surveyed in Missouri believe Hawley should resign, while 49% do not. One in five Republicans surveyed was in favor of the resignation of the first senator, while the majority of self-identified independents and a super-majority of Democrats were also in favor.
Asked how Hawley’s opposition to Electoral College certification might influence his vote in the future, 47 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for Hawley when he is re-elected in 2024, while 36 percent said they were more likely to vote for him after the gambit.
The survey also found Hawley’s underwater approval rating, with 43 percent of respondents disapproving of it and 39 percent. One-third of respondents had a “very unfavorable” view of Hawley, while one in five had a “very favorable” view of him.
Data For Progress polled 571 potential voters in Missouri from Jan. 10-12, the weekend after a pro-Trump crowd stormed the Capitol to overthrow election results. The margin of error was 4.1 points. The company, which FiveThirtyEight estimated had no partial bias in any direction, was the first to poll Missouri voters on Hawley shares on Jan. 6.
A national survey of Hawley, conducted by the company Ipsos along with Axios and published on Thursday, found that 24% of respondents had a favorable view of it and 68% had an unfavorable view, a difference of 44 points. Hawley’s favorability was even delayed among Republicans, with more of them disliking him by a three-point margin.
The ambitious Conservative senator was first elected in 2018, when he defeated former Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) by a margin of 51.5% to 45.5% in this increasingly conservative state. , which Donald Trump carried 15 points in November.
Hawley is expected to face Missouri voters in 2024, the same year the presidential election is considered a likely candidate. He has aggressively courted Trump’s base with socially conservative and economically populist ideas and, along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), led a last-ditch attempt to turn the damaging role of Congress in certifying elections into an opportunity to litigate Trump claims. of electoral “fraud” that had been completely rejected by the courts and election officials.
On the morning of January 6, Hawley was photographed raising his fist in solidarity with a pro-Trump crowd gathered in front of the Capitol. Hours later, after the violent mob stormed the building and tried to disrupt election certification, threatening lawmakers, staff, journalists and even Vice President Mike Pence with damage and death, Hawley went to the Senate floor to say that violence had provoked The “lawful” contests of the elections are even more important.
Hawley’s work may have miscalculated, said Data for Progress analyst Ethan Winter: “He took a position that seems to have infuriated many independents and even some members of his Republican base,” which Winter says “closely coordinates with President Trump’s recent downfalls” national favorability between independent and Republican voters. “
Later, several of Hawley’s Democratic colleagues asked him to resign, a rare thing in the normally elegant Senate. The two major Missouri newspapers also called for his resignation and several powerful corporate interests, including those established in the state, declared that they would suspend contributions to their campaigns or even demand a refund of their money.
Increasingly isolated in his party and in Washington, Hawley has insisted that it only reflected the will of Missouri voters. His allies have backed him up on this score: “Hawley has his finger on the pulse of the Missouri electorate far better than many of the people who criticize him now, and I think they have to be realistic with themselves about it.” Gregg Keller, a Republican State Party official, told Wall Street Journal last week.
While Trump’s approval rating has hit new lows nationwide – reaching 34% in the most recent POLITICO / Morning Consult poll, the lowest of all year – it has been shown to be somewhat lasting in favor of Trump in Missouri, and the outgoing president remains far more popular than the senator who has zealously supported him.
According to the Data for Progress poll, 48 percent of Missouri voters approved of Trump’s performance and 51 percent disapproved of him, days after inciting a violent riot and saying he loved people who they destroyed the US Capitol. According to the poll, eighty-three percent of Republicans continued to have a favorable view of Trump.