Most Georgia Voters Think Trump Prosecution Unfair

The prosecution of former President Donald Trump by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is unfair, according to a majority of Georgia voters, most of whom have concerns about the integrity of elections in their state.

A new telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and The Absolute Truth With Emerald Robinson finds that 56% of Likely Georgia voters believe it is likely Trump is being unfairly prosecuted by Willis, including 39% who say it’s Very Likely. Thirty-seven percent (37%) don’t think it’s likely Willis is unfairly prosecuting Trump, including 28% who say an unfair prosecution is Very Unlikely. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

A majority (52%) of Georgia voters believe it’s likely that cheating affected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the state, including 30% who say it’s Very Likely cheating affected the election outcome. Thirty-five percent (35%) don’t think it’s likely the 2020 Georgia election was affected by cheating, including 22% who say it’s Not At All Likely. Another 13% are not sure.

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The survey of 1,061 Georgia Likely Voters was conducted on September 8-11, 2023 by Rasmussen Reports and The Absolute Truth With Emerald Robinson. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of Georgia voters would support state officials convening a special session of the legislature to stop Willis from prosecuting Trump, including 37% who would Strongly Support such a move. Thirty-eight percent (38%) would oppose a special legislative session to stop the Fulton County prosecution of Trump, including 30% who would Strongly Oppose it.

Among other findings of the Rasmussen Reports/Absolute Truth survey of Georgia Likely Voters:

– If Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp publicly opposed the Fulton County DA’s prosecution of Trump, 36% of voters say it would make them more likely to vote for Kemp in the future, while 33% say it would make them less likely to vote for Kemp and 24% say it wouldn’t make much difference. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of the state’s Republican voters would be more likely to vote for Kemp if he came out publicly against Willis’s prosecution of Trump.

– Fifty-five percent (55%) of Georgia voters believe it is likely that cheating will affect the outcome of the 2024 presidential election in their state, including 27% who say it’s Very Likely. Seventy percent (70%) of Republicans in Georgia think cheating is at least somewhat likely to affect next year’s election outcome, as do 44% of Democrats and 51% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

– Forty-five percent (45%) of Georgia voters approve of President Joe Biden’s job performance, including 26% who Strongly Approve. Fifty-two percent (52%) disapprove of Biden’s performance as president, including 43% who Strongly Disapprove. Biden’s job approval is 80% among Democrats and 66% among black voters in Georgia, while 84% of Republicans and 64% of whites disapprove of Biden’s job performance.

– Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Georgia voters have a favorable impression of Trump, including 34% with a Very Favorable opinion. Forty-one percent (41%) view Trump unfavorably, including 33% with a Very Unfavorable impression of the former president. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Georgia Republicans view Trump at least somewhat favorably. 

– Although Biden officially won the 2020 election in Georgia, only 39% of those surveyed now say they voted for Biden, while 46% say they voted for Trump in 2020.

– If the 2024 election were held today, Trump would win Georgia by a nine-point margin, with 47% to Joe Biden’s 38%.

– Sixty-two percent (62%) of Georgia voters are concerned that election results in their state don’t accurately reflect the true number of voters, including 38% who are Very Concerned. Eighty-one percent (81%) of Republicans are at least somewhat concerned about the accuracy of Georgia’s election results, as are 46% of Democrats and 56% of unaffiliated voters.

– Fifty-one percent (51%) believe the Georgia legislature should use its oversight authority to investigate Willis, while 34% are opposed to such an investigation, and 14% are not sure.

Responding to the survey results, Emerald Robinson said: “These poll numbers spell trouble for the Georgia GOP (and Gov. Brian Kemp in particular) because the election system has not been improved, and Kemp has shown no interest in defending President Trump from Fulton County DA Willis.” 

Voters are almost evenly divided over the criminal prosecution of Trump. 

Democrats are satisfied with long prison sentences for Trump supporters who rioted at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, but other voters, not so much.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public as well as to Platinum Members.

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