“Conviction Sensitive” Persuadables

Created
Tue, 30/04/2024 - 09:30
Updated
Tue, 30/04/2024 - 09:30
Are they the new soccer moms and NASCAR dads? Dan Pfeiffer looks at the latest (outlier) CNN poll that has the whole beltway gasping with excitement over the prospect that Biden is in the dirt with young people, Black and Hispanic voters. He noted that the polls shows that 25% of Trump voters are what he calls “conviction sensitive” voters who might be persuaded to abandon him if he’s convicted of a crime: Even more interesting, the topline numbers are the characteristics of these conviction-sensitive voters. According to CNN: In other words, these are the exact voters who propelled Trump to his very narrow lead in the polling average. Younger voters, independents, Black and Latino voters are groups Trump struggled with in 2020 but is doing better with now. You would think that all voters would be “conviction sensitive” but we live in a world in which corrupt, criminal politicians are revered because they’re very stable geniuses so being a felon who committed massive fraud, assaulted a woman and then defamed her, paid off a porn star, stole classified documents or tried to steal an election makes you “smart.” Pfeiffer makes the case that at least some of these voters are persuadable and contends that this poll reveals “two broader truths about this election”: First, Trump’s putative lead is fragile. He is propped up by people who don’t like him, disagree with him on most issues, and have a long history of voting for Democrats. Holding on to this coalition for…