Most Voters Share GOP Concerns About ‘Botched’ Arizona Election

Problems with the election in Arizona have Republicans furious, and a majority of voters nationwide agree that the “sacred right to vote” is at risk.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 71% of Likely U.S. voters believe it’s likely – including 40% who say it’s Very Likely – that problems with the election in Maricopa County affected the outcome of the Senate election in Arizona. Twenty-three percent (23%) don’t think the problems affected the Senate election, in which Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly defeated GOP challenger Blake Masters by a 51%-47% margin. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The gubernatorial race in Arizona was even closer, with Democrat Katie Hobbs edging Republican Kari Lake by a margin of less than 20,000 votes. After reports of Election Day problems with vote tabulation in Maricopa County, Lake called the election “botched” and declared: “This isn't about Republicans or Democrats. This is about our sacred right to vote, a right that many voters were, sadly, deprived of on November 8th.” Seventy-two percent (72%) of Likely Voters agree with Lake’s statement, including 45% who Strongly Agree. Eighteen percent (18%) disagree, including 13% who Strongly Disagree, while another 10% are not sure.

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The survey of 750 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on November 27-28, 2022 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.6 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Ninety-four percent (94%) of voters have closely followed recent news about this year’s Senate elections, including 66% who have Very Closely the news. Among those who have Very Closely followed news about the Senate elections, 70% think it’s likely problems with the election in Maricopa County affected the outcome in Arizona, including 48% who say it’s Very Likely the Arizona Senate outcome was affected by the problems.

A majority (52%) of Republicans believe it’s Very Likely the Maricopa County problems affected the Senate election outcome in Arizona, an opinion shared by 23% of Democrats and 45% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

Sixty percent (60%) of Republicans, 35% of Democrats and 41% of unaffiliated voters Strongly Agree with Kari Lake’s statement about many Arizona voters being deprived of their “sacred right to vote.”

More women voters (43%) than men (37%) think it is Very Likely that the Senate election outcome in Arizona was affected by the voting problems in Maricopa County. Women voters are also more likely than men to Strongly Agree that the “sacred right to vote” was at stake.

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of whites, 73% of black voters and 80% of other minorities believe it is at least somewhat likely that problems in Maricopa County affected the outcome of Arizona’s Senate election. Black voters (37%) are less likely than whites (44%) or other minorities (48%) to Strongly Agree with Lake’s quote about the “sacred right to vote.”

Breaking down the electorate by income categories, those earning between $30,000 and $50,000 a year are most likely to think the Senate election outcome in Arizona was Very Likely to be affected by Maricopa County voting problems.

President Joe Biden’s strongest supporters are least concerned that voting problems could have altered the election outcome in Arizona. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, just 22% think it’s Very Likely the outcome was affected by voting problems in Maricopa County. By contrast, among those who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 71% believe the Arizona Senate election was Very Likely affected.

Plans by Republicans in Congress to investigate Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings meet with approval from a majority of voters.

Republican congressional leaders remain unpopular, even with their own party’s voters, who overwhelmingly want to get rid of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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