DEMS/ELECTION/GOP/POLLS/TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Trump’s administration scandals threaten to take a toll on Republicans in battleground districts this fall, according to new polling suggesting ‘culture of corruption’ messaging is gaining traction. Fifty-four percent of voters across 48 Republican-held congressional districts said Republicans were ‘more corrupt’ than Democrats, compared to 46 percent who said Democrats are ‘more corrupt.’ According to the online survey of 1,200 registered voters, conducted July 2-5, an even higher number of independents hold Republicans responsible for corruption: 60 percent. Those are welcome numbers to Democrats who have struggled to find their messaging in the run-up to the midterms. In May, the party signaled an effort to tap the ‘culture of corruption’ theme that proved an effective mantra in 2006, when GOP Capitol Hill scandals helped Democrats regain control of the House and Senate..The corruption framing today takes a different shape than in 2006, when it largely revolved around the behavior of Republican members of Congress. Now, the focus is on Trump cabinet members who resigned under an ethics cloud, including former Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt and former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. The current messaging also looks to portray the GOP tax plan as riddled with loopholes and benefiting only the wealthy. That’s the same plan Republicans are holding up in their reelection campaigns as a major achievement.”
–Natasha Korecki, “Poll: Corruption message gaining traction against GOP,” Politico, July 17, 2018 6:37 pm