Most Americans say candidates accused of sexual assault should drop out

In the week after Democrat Graham Platner withdrew from the Maine Senate race following multiple allegations against him of sexual assault, the lastest Economist / YouGov Poll finds that a majority (61%) of Americans think that a candidate for electoral office who is accused of sexual assault by multiple women should drop out of the race unless he or she can disprove the allegations. Only 25% of Americans say the candidate should stay in the race unless the allegations are proven.

Women are a bit more likely than men to say that candidates accused of sexual assault should drop out of their races (63% vs. 58%). But there are larger differences based on party identification. Majorities of Democrats (74%) and Independents (60%) say that candidates should drop out in this situation, but only about half (49%) of Republicans say the same — though this is still larger than the 38% of Republicans who say candidates should not drop out unless the allegations are proven. MAGA Republicans' attitudes are significantly different from those of non-MAGA Republicans. A majority of Republicans who do not identify as MAGA supporters say candidates accused of sexual assault by multiple women should drop out (62%, vs. 22% who say they should not), but MAGA Republicans are evenly split on this question (45% vs. 44%).

While a majority of Americans think candidates should drop out of races if they are accused of sexual assault by multiple women, that doesn't mean that Americans trust all allegations. A majority of Americans think that political candidates are sometimes (46%) or often (15%) unfairly accused of sexual assault. Only 5% believe that candidates are never unfairly accused. Men and Republicans are a bit more likely to express such doubt than are women, Democrats, and Independents, but less than 10% of each of these groups believe that candidates are never unfairly accused.

Though many Americans express doubts about some accusations of sexual assault against political candidates, many still prefer to err on the side of the accusers in cases where multiple women have made accusations against a candidate. Most Americans who think that candidates are rarely or never unfairly accused say that candidates should drop out in these instances (79% and 78%, respectively). Also, a majority (54%) of Americans who think that candidates are sometimes unfairly accused nevertheless say that candidates should drop out if accused by multiple women, compared to only 28% who say they should remain in the race. Only the small share of Americans who say that candidates are often unfairly accused are more likely to think such candidates should stay in the race rather than drop out (56% vs. 34%).

Few Americans are satisfied with the way that either the Democratic or the Republican Party handles allegations of sexual assault against their party's candidates. Only 22% of Americans say that the Democratic Party does a good or excellent job of handling such accusations, while 20% say the Republican Party does a good or excellent job. Though neither party's handling is rated particularly highly, the Republican Party is more likely to be rated poorly: 33% of Americans say the Democratic Party does a poor job of handling sexual assault allegations, while 45% say the same of the Republican Party. 15% say both parties handle allegations poorly, including 22% of Independents.

Image: Getty (CJ Gunther / Stringer)

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