Poll Finds 49% of Pennsylvanians Agree with Trump’s Conviction And He’s Still Leading In the State

(Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)

A new Marist University poll conducted in the Keystone State found that despite the fact that nearly half of the state approves of the guilty verdict in presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s hush money trial, the former president is still favored to win the state’s electoral votes.

According to the survey of 1,181 registered voters in Pennsylvania, 49% of the state believes that the jury got it right in convicting Trump. Twenty-five percent, meanwhile, believe Trump’s underlying conduct was unethical, but legal, and another 24% say he did nothing wrong.

Still, voters prefer Trump to Biden by a two-point margin (47%-45%) in the poll, with independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and an amalgamation of other minor candidates each getting 3%. Two percent of respondents indicated that they were still undecided. Notably, Trump also carries independents by a two-point margin (42%-40%) over Biden.

Trump has several sources of strength keeping him ahead, but the overriding story can be told by his 11-point lead (35%-24%) among voters who disapprove of both major party candidates.

This could be attributable to voters’ preference of Trump on policy issues. Majorities indicate that Trump would better handle the economy (54%-45%) and immigration (55%-43%) and voters are split on who would do a better job of “preserving democracy” (49%-49%).

Fifty-four percent of respondents said that they and their families were better off during Trump’s presidency than during Biden’s.

The results of the Marist survey track with those of other polls measuring voter opinion after Trump’s conviction, including a series of swing state polls conducted by Fox News that showed Trump with leads in Nevada and Arizona and running even with Biden in Virginia.

Pennsylvania is expected to be a key — and perhaps even the pivotal — state in deciding the general election this November. In 2020, Biden won it by 1.17%.