Focus group: Wisconsin swing voters think Trump should be criminally prosecuted

The Home choose committee’s Jan. 6 hearings are cementing the views of some voters who as soon as backed former Predident Trump and now imagine he ought to face felony prosecution, in line with our newest Axios Engagious/Schlesinger focus teams.

Driving the information: 10 of 14 Wisconsin swing voters final week stated Trump needs to be prosecuted for making an attempt to overturn the 2020 election and his position within the assault on the Capitol; 10 of 13 Arizona swing voters in panels final month stated the identical.

Why it issues: The findings observe bombshell testimony by former White Home aides and legal professionals. Committee members have previewed forthcoming revelations about potential witness tampering.

• The main target teams observe with nationwide polling displaying greater than half of People imagine Trump ought to face felony fees.

The way it works: Engagious/Schlesinger performed two on-line focus teams on Tuesday with 14 Wisconsinites who voted for Trump in 2016 then Joe Biden in 2020. They included 12 independents, one Democrat and one Republican.

• Whereas a spotlight group just isn’t a statistically vital pattern like a ballot, the responses present how some voters are considering and speaking about present occasions.

Particulars: Eight individuals stated they’ve watched no less than a part of the Jan. 6 hearings up to now. A number of stated the hearings have been useful for “accountability” however that the committee already has “their proof” of what occurred that day.

• Those that thought Trump ought to face felony prosecution did not relent even when the moderator pushed again and stated doing so could be unprecedented, probably placing future presidents liable to being prosecuted for political causes.
• Voters have been adamant that such a transfer would assist deter related makes an attempt by anybody else sooner or later to “overthrow the federal government.”

What they’re saying: “He is our president and a president ought to have by no means performed something to impress what occurred. Many individuals have been injured. Have a look at what number of lives you place at stake since you have been permitting this to occur. And he was pleased about it,” stated Samantha O., 39.

• Andrew R., 59, stated: “We’ve got to point out different those that this simply cannot be performed sooner or later. [Prosecution] goes to be the worth to pay in case you attempt to do a coup once more — and that is precisely what it was, a coup.”
• Others likened what occurred that day to the politics of “third-world international locations.”

• 36-year-old Jaime M. stated what occurred on Jan. 6 “was too excessive, and one thing must be performed about it to stop it from ever occurring once more,” in any other case “it simply opens a floodgate for what anyone else is allowed to do.”
• One other voter stated criminally prosecuting Trump would make sure that “the credibility of the justice system is upheld.”
• “Paradoxically, most of those Wisconsin swing voters assume the president who led chants of ‘lock her up’ ought to himself be locked up for his actions on Jan. 6,” stated Wealthy Thau, president of Engagious, who moderated the main focus teams. 

What to observe: These voters have extra than simply Jan. 6 on their minds. Many stated that federal gun laws was a top-three precedence for them this cycle, however a number of others instructed us their vote in November will not be affected by the problem of abortion.

• They barely knew a lot about Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), however those that do know him weren’t very pleased. One voter stated he’s “a puppet of Trump” and one other stated “he pretends to care” simply to “acquire reputation.”
• All however two stated they neither need Trump nor President Biden to run for president once more in 2024.