SEATTLE — Washington state adults put more blame on Trump supporters for the Jan 6. Capitol insurrection versus Trump himself, according to WA Poll results released Sunday.
Forty percent of Washington state adults said they have been following the House select committee’s public hearings into the Jan. 6 attack while 27% said they haven’t been following it at all. Of those who have been following the hearings closely, 49% said they were liberal and 22% identified as conservative.
"Certainly January 6 is having an impact nationally and certainly it's having an impact in Washington state in a way that is not helpful for Republican candidates in any way whatsoever," said Scott McClellan, former White House press secretary for President Bush and KING 5 political analyst. "Certainly in general elections, it is a net negative for Republicans and in a state like Washington that is Democratic."
The WA Poll was commissioned by KING 5, The Seattle Times, University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public and Washington State University’s Murrow College of Communication and was conducted by SurveyUSA.
Washington state voters were asked on a scale of 1-10, how much responsibility the following groups have for the Jan 6. attack: Trump supporters, Trump himself, or “left-wing activists.”
Trump supporters were ranked at the top as having the most responsibility at 7.2, with the highest rating, 9.1, coming from among those who said they were watching the hearings very closely.
Those identifying as “very liberal” rated Trump supporters’ responsibility at 9, while ranking Trump himself as responsible at 8.9.
Overall, adults ranked Trump’s responsibility at 6.5 but that ranking increased to 8.8 among those who have been following the hearings very closely.
"Whether it's the U.S. Senate races to the state legislative races or local races, certainly people are very concerned about what happened," said Gary Locke, former governor of Washington and KING 5 political analyst. "They also recognize that while the president may have urged and encouraged and supported the violence and knew that it might have occurred, they don't really hold him directly responsible. Many do, but not the vast majority of people."
At the bottom overall, adults ranked “left-wing activists” as having a responsibility level of 4.6. That number jumped to 7.1 among the “very conservative” respondents and Trump voters. The ranking dropped to 3.3 among those watching the hearing very closely.
Eight out of 10 respondents agreed with the statement that those responsible for the Jan. 6 attack should be held accountable, including criminal investigation.
Nearly all – 99% – of those who said they have been following the hearings closely said those responsible should be held accountable.
When asked if the government is exaggerating the events of Jan. 6 for political persecution of conservatives, 52% of respondents disagreed, but 83% of Trump voters did agree.
The WA Poll was commissioned by KING 5, The Seattle Times, University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public and Washington State University’s Murrow College of Communication and was conducted by SurveyUSA. It surveyed 825 adults from July 6-10, 2022. Of those adults, 731 were registered voters. The poll represented the demographics of Washington state with 47% from the metro Seattle area, 32% from western Washington and 21% from eastern Washington.
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