CBS Poll: Condit In Trouble With Voters
Most of the people Gary Condit represents believe he has impeded the police investigation into former federal intern Chandra Levy’s disappearance and has asked at least one other woman to lie about a sexual relationship.
However, Condit’s constituents still say he has done a good job as their congressman, and while a majority of voters say they would not vote for him again if he ran for re-election, only a third say that he should resign his seat now.
 | ||
| WHAT SHOULD GARY CONDIT DO? | ||
| Resign | Finish His Term | |
33% | 53% | |
 | ||
CONDIT’S JOB PERFORMANCE AND HIS FUTURE
More than half of Condit's constituents in California’s Congressional District 18 say Condit has done a good or excellent job as their Representative, even though their personal opinion of him is unfavorable. Sixteen percent describe his job performance as excellent, another 35 percent say he’s done a good job, 25 percent rate his job performance as fair and 12 percent say he’s done a poor job.
As for the future, nearly to-thirds of Condit’s constituents say his job performance has been affected by the recent news, and half say it has seriously interfered with his job performance. A quarter, however, say his performance has not been affected by this.
| ||
| CONDIT'S JOB PERFORMANCE | ||
| Excellent/Good | Only Fair/Poor | |
51% | 37% | |
| ||
Although most respondents don’t think Condit should resign – at least for now – he gets relatively little support should he decide to run for re-election. Fifty-three percent of voters in his district say they would not vote for him if he ran for re-election. Only 24 percent would vote for him in 2002.
In 2000, Condit was re-elected with 67 percent of the vote in his district. The majority that would not vote for him in 2002 includes 43 percent of those who were part of that landslide victory just last November. While the sentiment for resignation is much lower, those in favor include one in four of the 2000 Condit voters.
| ||
| VOTER PREFERENCE IN 2002 CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION | ||
| Would vote for Condit | Would not vote for Condit | |
24% | 53% | |
| ||
Respondents in his district seem a little more tolerant than people statewide (and that may be because Condit’s constituents have information about his record in Congress as well as the current scandals to rely on). Among all Californians, 37 percent say Condit should resign and 45 percent say he should finish his term.
CONDIT’S ROLE IN THE LEVY DISAPPEARANCE
Condit’s constituents (along with most Californians) don't think Condit was involved with Chandra Levy's disappearance last May. However, it appears to be mostly because people aren’t sure what to think rather than complete belief in his innocence. As of now, 31 percent say he was involved in the disappearance.
Whatever his direct involvement, most people do think that he's done things wrong. Sixty-five percent of his constituents say he seriously hurt the police investigation into Levy’s disappearance by holding back information at first. Seventy-three percent say it bothers them that he did o. Fifty-five percent say he hasn’t yet told the police everything he knows, and 61 percent say that he probably did ask flight attendant Anne Marie Smith to lie about their affair.
The FBI earlier this week officially transferred the Chandra Levy investigation to its "Cold Case" unit, which historically has handled only the toughest of cases which have few clues, CBS News has learned.
MORALITY AND OFFICEHOLDERS: DO THEY ALL DO IT?
Condit's moral values are an issue with voters in his district. Seven in ten say that his moral values do matter to them when they evaluate his job performance. Nearly four in ten say Condit’s moral values matter a lot.
But many people say that Condit’s behavior – at least when it comes to extramarital liaisons – is not all that unusual among members of Congress. In fact, two-thirds of his constituents and a majority of all Californians believe that at least half of all senators and representatives have had affairs outside of marriage.
THE CLINTON PARALLEL?
Some of these responses are reminiscent of those given by the American public two years ago, during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. Then, while many Americans believed President Clinton had lied under oath, in most polls only a third supported his resignation.
|
And while more women than men supported Mr. Clinton, that’s not as clear here. If anything, women are somewhat more suspicious. In Condit’s own district, women are more likely than men to say they are bothered a lot that Condit initially misled the public and the police about his relationship with Chandra Levy. Statewide, women are slightly more likely than men are to think he might be involved with Levy’s disappearance.
THE MEDIA
Most Californians are following this story closely - as are about three-quarters of those in Condit's district. Those following it very closely react more negatively to Condit’s actions than those who are following it less closely.
As for the news media’s coverage, by about two to one Californians say the media has acted responsibly in covering the story. Those in Condit’s district also see the media as responsible, though by a slightly narrower margin.
This poll was conducted among a total sample of 1,001 California adults; including 566 adults in California’s 18th Congressional District. The additional district sample was weighted to its proper proportion when combined with the statewide sample. Interviews were conducted by telephone July 16-17, 2001. The error due to sampling could be plus or minus four percentage points on results for the district sample and plus or minus five percentage points for statewide estimates.
For detailed information on how CBS News conducts public opinion surveys, click here.
©MMI, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved