Results of Hawkeye Poll Show Most Iowans Against Impeachment

According to the recently released 2019 Hawkeye Poll, a majority of Iowans do not support the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives. Yet a plurality disapproves of his performance as President, a majority reported that they think President Trump was acting in his own interest rather than the country’s in his dealings with Ukraine, and a majority would like to see a strong challenger for the Republican presidential nomination in Iowa.

Iowans were opposed to the impeachment inquiry overall, with 53% opposed and 44.8% approving. With Republicans and Democrats nearly unanimous in their positions, Independents provide the decisive margin here, with 54% opposing and 42.4% approving of the inquiry, which was just about to move into the public hearings stage as the poll left field. Opposition to the inquiry was strongest among men (60.4%) and rural voters (65.7%) whereas majorities of women (52%), suburban (51.8%), and urban (58.1%) voters support it.

A plurality of voters report they think President Trump was pursuing his personal interest (46.8%) in his dealings with Ukraine rather than the national interest (39.7%). These results also broke down clearly along party lines, with 92.9% of Democrats responding that they thought he was acting in his own interest, compared 45.2% of Independents and 7% of Republicans. 16% of Independents and 14.9% of Republicans did not know or refused to respond. Women were more likely to believe that he acted in his own interest (54.1%) than men (39.6%) as were urban (59.7%) and suburban (53.1%) voters compared to rural voters (36.7%).

President Trump’s approval rating in Iowa, at 45.8%, sits just below his disapproval rating of 48.7%. Independents provide most of this gap, with 43.7% approving and 47.1% disapproving. Both men (50%) and rural voters (57.3%) have a net favorable view of the President.

When asked if they would like to see a strong challenger for the Republican nomination emerge in the Iowa Caucuses, nearly two out of three voters in the state said they would (63%). Sizeable support exists across parties, with 78.1% of Democrats wanting such a challenger, 69.5% of Independents, and 42.6% of Republicans. Majorities of urban (70.7%), suburban (71.7%), and rural (55%) respondents also agreed, as did majorities of men (60.1%) and women (66%).

These results also reveal an interaction between partisanship and gender. While Republican men and women and Democratic men and women generally agree on impeachment and the motive for the President’s interests in Ukraine, Independent men and women showed a split. 60.5% of male Independents opposed impeachment compared to 44.8% of female Independents. 39.9% of male Independents believed the President was acting in his own interest in the dealings with Ukraine compared to 52.2% of female Independents.

The University of Iowa Department of Political Science has conducted the Hawkeye Poll since 2007. A series of national and state public opinion polls, this experience serves as an important learning opportunity for students. This year, over 250 undergraduate students from 12 classes had the opportunity to directly participate in the research production process and to acquire valuable career- related knowledge about survey research and public polling in general. Learn more about the course athttps://now.uiowa.edu/2019/11/taking-iowas-pulse-hawkeye-poll.