FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 26, 2019
CONTACT: [email protected]
Rural Sentiment Report Shows Declining Support for Impeachment
Trump Defenders Dominate Online Discussion by Nearly 2-1 Margin in Rural Areas of Key States
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the One Country Project (OCP) released the fifth installment of its impeachment social media listening project, which analyzes how rural Americans active on social media in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are discussing the impeachment inquiry.“Since day one, Republicans in Congress have been treating the impeachment inquiry not as a serious constitutional process, but rather as an opportunity to malign Democratic members as craven political operators,” said founding board member and former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp.
“Unfortunately, this aggressive Republican public relations campaign appears to be paying dividends. As One Country Project’s latest impeachment tracker shows, Republican-leaning social media users are hardening in their belief that the impeachment inquiry is an illegitimate political stunt.
“Democratic lawmakers need to do more to explain the validity of the impeachment process and how the wanton acts of the president harm the American people, undermine the office, and run counter to the national interest.”
OCP observed social media traffic from November 12 to November 24, and the analysis identified several key insights:
- Discussion volume around impeachment continues to increase. Neutral discussion has been steady, but Trump defenders have been getting increasingly louder, and now constitute 36 percent of the discussion compared to 19 percent for impeachment advocates.
- Enthusiasm on each side of the debate is moving in different directions. Proponents of impeachment were energized but are now becoming less so. Meanwhile, impeachment opponents are inflamed by every turn of the process in Washington. Since the last OCP tracker, pro-impeachment has declined by 3 percent while anti-impeachment sentiment has risen by 5 percent in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
- Polarization remains prominent. Despite the wall-to-wall media coverage, including hours of testimony from a dozen witnesses, discussion by rural Americans remains focused on the legitimacy of the inquiry, not the substance of the testimony.
- Republican-leaning conversation is dominated by comments attacking the inquiry as corrupt and portraying Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA-28) as a villain.
This is the latest of an ongoing series of rural social listening memos and data released by OCP.
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About One Country ProjectThe One Country Project, led by former Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly, is working to promote greater opportunities for rural communities and ensure leaders earn their support. One Country is reengaging with rural Americans, serving as a clearinghouse of research and information for rural Americans, and working to ensure leaders regain trust by fighting for these communities. To learn more, visit the website, OneCountryProject.org.