Most See Impeachment As Failed Strategy, Want Democrats to Move On

Impeachment is over and done with as far as most voters are concerned. The House Democrats’ failed effort to remove President Trump has just made him stronger politically, voters say.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that only 32% of Likely U.S. Voters think House Democrats should continue their efforts to remove Trump from office. Sixty-two percent (62%) say Democrats in Congress should now focus on other issues. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

For Democratic voters, it’s a close call: 48% say their representatives in the House should continue their efforts to remove Trump from the White House, but 43% say they should focus on other issues. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Republicans and 70% of voters not affiliated with either major party say House Democrats should zero in on other issues.

Fifty-five percent (55%) of all voters think the unsuccessful attempt to remove Trump from office has made him stronger politically. Just 16% say it has made him weaker, while 23% believe the failed impeachment effort has had no impact.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted February 6 and 9, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Most voters think Trump’s impeachment won’t hurt him at the polls in November and don’t share House Democrats’ concern that the upcoming election may be unfair if Trump is one of the candidates.

Seventy-three percent (73%) of Republicans and 56% of unaffiliated voters believe the unsuccessful effort to force Trump from office has made him stronger politically. Among Democrats, 40% agree; 22% say the failed impeachment attempt has made him weaker, while 32% think it has had no impact.

The majority of voters in most demographic categories want House Democrats to focus on issues other than impeachment.

Those under 40 feel much more strongly than their elders that House Democrats should continue their efforts to remove Trump from office. But younger voters are also the age group most convinced that Trump is politically stronger now.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of voters who believe House Democrats should move on say Trump is stronger politically after the failed impeachment attempt. Among voters who want Congress to continue efforts to remove the president, only 36% think he’s stronger now; nearly as many (34%) say he’s weaker.

Health care and the economy dominate voter concerns as America begins the slow formal crawl to the next presidential election. Impeachment is low on the list of concerns.

Most voters opposed the U.S. Senate’s removal of Trump from office and say his future should be left up to them in November. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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