Poll Reveals MAGA Voters' High Tolerance for Candidate Scandals

Nearly three-quarters of MAGA voters would back a candidate accused of domestic violence, and two-thirds would stick with one accused of sexual assault, according to recent polling.

More broadly, most self-identified MAGA Donald Trump voters surveyed by Politico said they would stand by a GOP candidate mired in any of 12 separate scandals, including a past DUI conviction, accepting gifts from lobbyists and concealing a terminal illness.

By contrast, voters who identified as having supported Kamala Harris in 2024 were significantly less willing to indulge damaged reputations — with two notable exceptions.

The findings suggest that, for many voters, scandal is less a disqualifier than background noise, with President Trump remaining the most durable illustration of this phenomenon. He weathered political isolation after the January 6 Capitol riot, four criminal indictments and a seemingly endless catalogue of controversies so far in his second term.

“Scandal doesn’t mean what it did 15 years ago. The rules have changed, and Republican voters know it,” GOP strategist Ford O’Connell told Politico. “Republicans, particularly MAGA voters, have learned that Queensberry rules don’t win in modern politics. Today it’s a full-contact fight, more UFC than civics class, and anything goes.”

The poll — conducted July 13-15 with 2,061 U.S. adults — asked voters whether they would stick with their party’s candidate through 12 different scandals if the midterm elections were held tomorrow.

MAGA voters were most forgiving of candidates who used legal tax loopholes, with 82 percent saying they would still back them. Large shares also said they would support candidates who had been convicted of a DUI (76 percent), accepted gifts from lobbyists (75 percent) or been photographed wearing blackface (74 percent).

Support remained strong, though it dipped somewhat, when voters were asked about more serious allegations: 72 percent said they would back a candidate accused of domestic violence, and 66 percent said the same about one accused of sexual assault.

The smallest shares — though still majorities — said they would stand by candidates who made antisemitic comments (58 percent) or shared classified information with a foreign government (57 percent).

Harris voters, meanwhile, were more generally more circumspect, with less than half saying they’d throw their support behind a Democratic candidate entangled in six of 12 scandals.

About 40 percent said they would stand by candidates accused of domestic violence or sexual assault, or those who had accepted gifts from lobbyists.

But when it came to two scandals, Harris voters were slightly more forgiving than Trump voters. Seventy percent said they would back a candidate previously convicted of a DUI, compared with 65 percent of MAGA voters. And about half said they would support an individual who made antisemitic comments — 2 percent more than MAGA voters.

Far from being in the realm of the hypothetical, several of these scandals have played a prominent role in races across the country this year.

For instance, Graham Platner, who was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maine, was accused last month by a former girlfriend of sexual assault, following a string of other controversies. After losing the backing of key Democratic allies seemingly overnight, Platner dropped out of the race while denying the allegations.

Ohio Rep. Max Miller, who is running for re-election, has also been accused by his ex-wife of abuse, including allegations that he held a gun to her head and broke her daughter’s collarbone. Miller has denied the allegations and is suing his ex-wife.

On a livestream Sunday, Miller said, “I'm not getting out of this race, and I'm winning in November.”

That same day, his former father-in-law, Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, issued a statement saying Miller should resign and seek mental health treatment.

“He is a danger to my daughter,” Moreno said. “If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them.”