70% of Voters Doubt Trump Will Accept Midterm Election Losses
The midterm elections are less than two weeks away, and Americans are growing increasingly nervous that the president will not accept the results. Here is a look at what a new poll is demonstrating about how Americans believe President Donald Trump will react if the Republicans do not come out ahead in the pivotal election.
Americans Express Doubt Trump Will Accept Results of Midterms
A new poll is shedding a little light on the nervousness that many Americans are feeling as the November 3 midterms approach. Approximately 70% of U.S. registered voters polled in The Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll said that they doubt President Trump will take any Republican defeats well. Roughly 36% of Republican voters admitted that they are not confident that the president would accept the losses. This compares with 77% of independents and 94% of Democrats who doubt Trump will accept the results if they do not go his way.
Over 2,500 registered American voters participated in the poll conducted between October 9 and 13. The poll has a two-percentage-point margin of error.
The results of the poll are not particularly surprising. More Americans believe that the Republicans will lose control of the House of Representatives by the time that all of the votes are counted. Only 16% of those polled believe that the GOP will remain in control of this chamber of Congress, compared to 35% who said that they believe the Democrats will seize control. Roughly 28% of the poll's participants saw the House as a toss-up, while 21% were unsure.
The predictions by these Americans are not entirely in line with what other polling services are predicting about how the race for the House will unfold. Most major polling agencies see it as an almost certainty that the Democrats will take back the House at this point.
The poll found that more Americans are confident that the Democratic Party would accept losses compared to their counterparts. The pollsters said that 61% of the participants said that they were very or somewhat confident that Democratic leaders would accept losses.
When divided by party affiliation, the difference was more stark. Democrats reported being 88% confident that their leaders would accept midterm losses. This compares to just 36% of Republicans who said the same about Democratic leaders. Roughly 58% of independent voters believe that Democrats will accept the losses.
When it comes to undecided voters and those planning to sit this election out, 37% are confident Democrats will accept a loss while 16% of these are confident that Trump will do the same.
Majority of Voters Still Confident in Election Accuracy
Despite cynicism about accepting results, Democrats and Republicans are aligned in their trust in the election process. The Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll found that approximately 70% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans are confident that the election results will be accurate. This finding demonstrates that while the Trump administration may be expressing skepticism about the integrity of the election, most voters still believe that the U.S. is able to conduct a fair election.
Along the same vein, the poll reported that 6 in 10 Americans are somewhat or very confident that the midterm elections would be conducted fairly. Independent voters were slightly less confident, with only 51% expressing confidence that this will be a fair election.
Breaking that question down further, 65% of Americans reported being certain that the votes will be counted right. This percentage is relatively unchanged from a similar question report just before the 2022 midterms. A Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted at that time found that 66% of respondents were certain that votes would be counted accurately.
Democrats are more confident that the votes will be recorded as cast, with 76% of these respondents expressing their faith. This compares to 68% of Republicans who report being confident that the votes will be counted accurately. Lastly, 55% of Independents are confident in this outcome.
As of Friday, nearly 22 million mail-in and early in-person votes have been cast nationally, according to NBC News. This is on pace to be a record-breaker for voter turnout, particularly in states with a competitive Senate race on the ballot. These states include Texas, North Carolina, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, Alaska, and Maine.
Democrats are outpacing Republicans in early voting. However, political pundits warn not to read too much into this data, as Democratic voters are far more likely to vote early or by mail.
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