A plurality of independents are tuning out the impeachment hearings, according to a recent poll.
According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 36 percent of independents said they did not watch, read, or hear anything about the hearings.
Of the 64 percent of independents who have paid some attention to the hearings, only 19 percent actually watched them. Seventeen percent said they watched or listened to news summaries, and 30 percent said they read or listened to news summaries.
While the poll shows that most independents are paying attention, it also shows that they are not as engaged as other demographics.
The poll showed that Democrats were the most engaged demographic — with 35 percent watching or listening to the hearing compared to only 26 percent of Republicans.
And more Democrats than Republicans and independents watched, listened to, or read news summaries about the hearings.
That could be bad news for Democrats who are hoping the hearings will sway the American public and persuade Republicans in the Senate to support impeachment.
It could also be good news for Republicans, who do not think the American people care to tune into the hearings, which have often turned into history lessons on U.S.-Ukraine relations.
An administration official told Axios, “So long as this impeachment stays in the echo chamber of hyperpartisan Democrats and their allies in the media and doesn’t break through into the country … we have the advantage.”
The poll was conducted November 14-15 — after U.S. diplomats Bill Taylor and George Kent testified and as former Amb. Marie Yovanovitch was testifying. The sample included 1,115 adults who were 18 and older, with a ± 3.3 percentage point error.
Story cited here.
