New Poll Shows How FBI Raid on Trump Has Motivated Voters for 2022 Midterms

Former President Donald Trump walks to a vehicle outside of Trump Tower in New York on Aug. 10, 2022. Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

More than 70 percent of Americans say the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s residence in Florida increases their motivation to vote during the November midterms, according to a new poll.

Some 83.3 percent of Republicans said the raid increases their motivation to vote in 2022, while 10.8 percent said it doesn’t, according to a poll released by the Convention of States Action and The Trafalgar Group (pdf). Six percent say they are not sure.

Among Democrats, 55.2 percent said the raid increases their motivation to vote in the fall, while 34 percent said that it doesn’t. About 11 percent said they were not sure.

The poll also discovered that 71.7 percent of independents say the incident increases their motivation to vote in 2022 as compared to 20.8 percent who say it doesn’t. Over 7 percent said they were not sure.

It also found that 47.9 percent of Americans polled said that “Trump’s political enemies” were behind the FBI raid. About 39 percent said the “impartial justice system” was behind it, according to the survey, while 12 percent were not certain.

“Independent and Republican voters are united in their outrage about this unprecedented and tragic event in American history,” Mark Meckler, president of Convention of States Action—a conservative group—said in a statement. “It’s clear to voters that the FBI raid is designed to punish the primary political enemy of the regime in power.”

He added that the raid “has created a voting surge that is so significant, the polling doesn’t even begin to reflect what is coming from grassroots voters in November.”

Trump’s family on Tuesday said that they have broken fundraising records following the FBI raid. While details regarding how much was raised weren’t disclosed, Trump’s team has sent out numerous emails and text messages with links to donation sites.

The former president also released a campaign-style video that may serve as a preview of his 2024 campaign, which he has not definitively confirmed or announced yet.

At the same time, observers say the raid will force some anti-Trump Republicans to coalesce around the former commander-in-chief. Several top Republicans who have sparred with Trump issued statements calling for more oversight of the Department of Justice and the FBI, accusing the two agencies of being politically motivated.

The FBI and Justice Department have not publicly commented on the search. But FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday decried what he called “threats to law enforcement” after the raid was announced.

“I’m always concerned about threats to law enforcement,” Wray said at a news conference Wednesday about social media posts. “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with.”