How to Talk to Republicans
Saying Donald Trump is a Russian agent is not effective messaging to bring Republicans on board. Talking about Russia, China, Iran and North Korea working together is.
In March of 2022, 74% of Trump voters favored military aid to Ukraine according to polling from the Economist. Nearly three years later, only 37% of Trump voters favor military aid to Ukraine.
Why the big drop? Years of Russian propaganda targeting conservatives and years of neglect of Republicans on the part of the pro-Ukraine community.
Our polling shows that we can bring some of those people back by giving them good information. We can increase that number by 20 percentage points – from 37% to 57% -- by sticking to poll tested messaging.
Quite literally, if you tell 100 Republicans this information, 37 of them will high five you and say “Right on dude!” and 20 of them say “Yeah, I never thought of it that way. Good points.” That is how it works.
We polled Republicans about the Ukraine aid vote last year. Our polling is a little dated, but still useful. We are raising money for an updated poll - you can help!
The first group of messages asks people if the information we give them makes them more or less like to support aid to Ukraine.
Now, please read the statements below and after you read each statement please indicate if it makes you more likely or less likely to support Congress authorizing additional funding to support Ukraine in the war with Russia, or if it makes no difference to you. Are you much more likely or just somewhat more likely?
The bill to provide $60 billion in aid to Ukraine would authorize the use of more than $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to help pay for military aid, rather than using US taxpayer dollars.
68%/30% more likely/much more likely to support Ukraine
Any peace plan in Ukraine would just give Russia time to re-arm and renew its attack against Ukraine and Europe. Vladimir Putin is already in violation of dozens of peace agreements and treaties with several countries, including the United States. There is no reason to believe he would honor any peace agreement in Ukraine.
66%/29% of Republican voters more likely/much more likely to support Ukraine aid
More than 90,000 reports of rape and sexual abuse by Russian soldiers have been reported since February of 2022. Many of the victims are little boys and little girls.
66%/34% of Republican voters more likely/much more likely to support Ukraine aid
If America stops military aid to Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians will be under the control of the Russians who are already persecuting and torturing Evangelical Christians, raping elderly women, and kidnapping Ukrainian children.
60%/32% of Republican voters more likely/much more likely to support Ukraine aid
This question series ask for agreement among Republican voters for statements about Ukraine and Russia. These numbers are consistently higher. It is a cheaper decision for someone to agree to a statement than it is to get them to agree to spend money.
Now, please read the statements below and after you read each one, please indicate if you agree or disagree with that statement. Do you strongly agree or disagree with this statement?
China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are coming for America and its allies. These four hostile countries are working together to cause chaos in Ukraine, Israel and much of the rest of the world. The world needs America now more than ever to unite our allies and defend free countries who are under direct attack from our enemies.
81%/41% agreement/strong agreement among Republican voters
Vladimir Putin will not be satisfied until he takes over Ukraine and other eastern European countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.
84%/47% agreement/strong agreement among Republican voters
Part of the reason Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine is because President Biden showed weakness in pulling out of Afghanistan. If we continue to show weakness by letting Putin have Ukraine, it will embolden Iran, North Korea, and China to invade Israel, South Korea, and Taiwan, bringing World War III to our doorstep.
81%/46% agreement/strong agreement among Republican voters
If Ukraine falls, Vladimir Putin will have the resources of Ukraine behind him. Russia will be on the border with nine NATO countries. Putin has said that Russia will invade Poland and Finland next after Russia defeats Ukraine. If Ukraine falls, it will bring World War III closer.
77%/31% agreement/strong agreement among Republican voters
We polled the Budapest Memorandum. It is not a terrible thing to talk about, but it is not as effective as other messages.
In 1994, America and the United Kingdom convinced Ukraine to give up the nearly 5,000 nuclear weapons they inherited from the Soviet Union. In exchange, America agreed to come to Ukraine's defense if they were attacked. If Ukraine still had nuclear weapons, Russia would not have attacked. America must honor its agreement to keep Ukraine safe.
67%/24% agreement/strong agreement among Republican voters