Most Americans believe presidential campaigns should pay local governments’ expenses after holding rallies, a new poll from YouGov shows.
Three-quarters of Americans say campaigns should compensate local governments for the expenses they incur when candidates hold rallies in their cities, and 62 percent of those respondents say doing so should be required. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say this, at 72 percent to 53 percent. Regardless of party affiliation, less then 10 percent of Americans believe campaigns should not pay at all.
The poll revealed that Americans are also likely to have a more negative view of a campaign if they refused to assist local governments with rally expenses. Fifty-two percent of respondents said they would view a candidate somewhat or much less favorably in this scenario. Within this finding specifically, Democrats are most likely to say they would view a candidate less favorably for failing to pay local government expenses, with 62 percent saying so compared to 37 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of with Independents.
Several cities have said they are still waiting for former President Trump to pay bills from associated with his campaigns dating back to 2016. Roughly half of Americans in the YouGov poll reported that this negatively impacts their views of the GOP candidate, compared to the seven percent that said this makes them view him more favorably.
These responses were again split along party lines, with 72 percent of Democrats saying Trump’s unpaid bills make them view him somewhat or much less favorably compared to 20 percent of Republicans and 49 percent of Independents. Meanwhile, 58 percent of Republicans say this does not change their view, compared to 16 percent of Democrats and 32 percent of Independents. Thirteen percent of Republicans say this positively impacts their view of Trump, compared to 5 percent of Independents and 6 percent of Democrats.
The YouGov Daily Questions survey was conducted online on Oct. 29 among 6,039 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 2 percent.
