Poll: half of voters think Sen. Al Franken should resign

A new poll suggests some Democratic and Republican voters want lawmakers to face the consequences for alleged sexual misconduct — but the issue doesn’t break down along partisan lines.

A new poll from Morning Consult and Politico found fully half of voters believe Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) should resign in the wake of allegations that he forcibly kissed radio personality Leeann Tweeden while they were on a USO tour in 2006. An additional 28 percent said they didn’t know or weren’t sure if he should resign.

The poll surveyed 2,586 registered voters between November 16 and 18, before a second woman came forward with allegations against Franken

Republicans favored Franken’s resignation over Democrats, but not by much: 56 percent to 49 percent. A total of 49 percent of independent voters also thought Franken should resign. Men and women were about equally divided: 51 percent of men thought he should resign, as did 49 percent of women.

The partisan divisions are deeper when it comes to Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore, who is accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl and pursuing other teenage women while in his 30s.

Though 57 percent of registered voters said they believe the Senate should expel Moore if he’s elected, only 46 percent of Republicans (and 43 percent of Trump voters) support those actions, compared to 73 percent of Democrats. As with Franken, a significant share weren’t sure: 25 percent of respondents said they didn’t know or had no opinion.

Still, nearly half of GOP voters appear anxious about Moore, who has begun to trail behind Democratic candidate Doug Jones in other recent polls. (Moore has denied the allegations.)

Voters seem to share a bipartisan disgust for lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct — except when it comes to Donald Trump.

Nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters (64 percent) said they believed in the credibility of the allegations against the president. That was true for only 37 percent of Republicans.

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