The New York Post reported on a new AAN policy survey determining how conservative voters view the U.S. sending aid to Ukraine. Our polling found that despite conventional wisdom, sending some type of aid to Ukraine and putting a check on Putin are far more popular among conservative voters than some believe.

Here are key toplines:

• In battleground congressional districts, a large majority of voters favor aid to Ukraine – 60% Favor to 34% Oppose.
• A plurality of GOP primary voters in safe seats support some type of aid to Ukraine – 46% Favor to 40% Oppose.
  • Moreover, a clear majority of these primary voters think, in general, that the U.S. should be helping Ukraine, as they see Putin as an enemy and Russia in the wrong for their invasion of Ukraine.
• 57% of GOP primary voters in safe Republican districts agree that the United States should help Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia compared to 36% who disagree.
• 75 % of GOP primary voters in safe Republican districts agree with tightening sanctions on Putin and others who enable his regime.
• 63% of GOP primary voters in safe Republican districts agree with seizing Russian assets worth up to $300 billion that are currently held in European banks to help pay for aid to Ukraine.
• 59% of GOP primary voters in safe Republican districts support the “Trump loan”  to ensure any additional aid given to Ukraine is in the form of a loan that the country will pay back when the war with Russia is over.
• Republican primary voters are split 33% to 33% on whether they would be more or less likely to vote for a Member who supports providing additional aid to Ukraine, with another 27% saying it makes no difference at all. This suggests this issue is not a deciding factor to Republican primary voters.
• The most popular focus of any package is: 1) protecting the United States, funding our troops, and refilling military stockpiles, and 2) stopping our enemies such as North Korea, China, and Iran from becoming more emboldened if Putin’s invasion is successful.

View our polling presentation here or read the story below for more.

In Case You Missed It…

Most GOP voters in battleground House districts favor Ukraine aid: poll
New York Post
By Josh Christenson
April 16, 2024
https://nypost.com/2024/04/16/us-news/majority-of-gop-voters-in-battleground-districts-favor-ukraine-aid-poll/

A majority of voters in battleground congressional districts support sending more aid to Ukraine — while a plurality of GOP primary voters in deep-red districts also back military assistance for Kyiv in its war against Russia, according to new polls exclusively shared with The Post.

American Action Network, the advocacy arm of the Congressional Leadership Fund — the super PAC focused on growing the House Republican majority — commissioned three surveys in February and March to gauge GOP voters’ opinions on both US-provided humanitarian, financial and military aid for Ukraine and Moscow’s 26-month-old invasion.

The February poll found that 60% of battleground district voters are in favor of all forms of US aid, with support highest among those 50-64 years old (60%) and 65 and older (80%).

Ukrainian soldiers of the 71st Jaeger Brigade fire a M101 howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline, near Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, March 22, 2024.

A majority of Republican voters in battleground districts for the 2024 election favor more US aid for Ukraine, according to a poll exclusively shared with The Post.

A slight majority of battleground voters under 35 (52%) and a plurality of those 35-49 (48%) also backed the additional aid.

Just 34% of all swing district voters were against the funding, while 6% said they did not know whether they supported it.

The survey also showed a majority of Republicans in safe GOP House seats strongly agree that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is an enemy of the United States” and “wants to reestablish the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence in Eastern and Central Europe.”

In total, 86% of Republican primary voters in deep-red districts had an unfavorable opinion of Putin, and 64% of them strongly agreed that “Russia had no cause and was wrong to invade Ukraine.”

Another poll, taken in March, also revealed that 46% of safe district GOP voters back at least the provision of military aid for Ukraine, compared with 40% who oppose all forms of US assistance to Kyiv.

“There’s a perception that Ukraine is unpopular and a liability among Republican voters, and the reality is that could not be further from the truth,” Dan Conston, the president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, told The Post Tuesday. “That opposition is driven from a loud few rather than a plurality or a majority.”

A majority of self-described “traditional” Republican voters (58%) were pushing for more aid, while more than half of GOP voters who identify with former President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement (56%) wanted the flow of assistance stopped.

The House voted on several bills under suspension of the rules to sanction Iran following their attack on Israel.

American Viewpoint commissioned three surveys to gauge Republican voters’ opinions on US-provided humanitarian, financial and military aid for Ukraine and views on Russia’s invasion.

A third March survey revealed that more than 6 in 10 Republican voters in red districts strongly favor “providing additional funding and protection for U.S. troops stationed overseas” (69%), “rebuilding US defense industrial capacity to produce military products we need more quickly and efficiently” (64%), and “refilling US weapons stockpiles that have been drained because many weapons have been sent to Ukraine” (62%).

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Monday night that Republicans would take up four standalone funding bills for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific and other national security concerns.

The text of those bills is expected to be released on Tuesday, and Johnson (R-La.) hinted that funds for Ukraine would incorporate a provision backed by Trump to make the payments to Kyiv in the form of a loan.

House Speaker Mike Johnson looks on after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed a joint meeting of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 11, 2024.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Monday night that Republicans would take up four standalone funding bills for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific and other national security concerns.

The speaker also has supported legislation to seize assets from Russian oligarchs to help pay for part of the Ukraine aid — and emphasized that 68% of the military assistance spending would replenish US munitions and weapons.

But with a motion to vacate from far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) still hanging over his head, Johnson acknowledged the Ukraine aid — which Greene strongly opposes — was “the most difficult part of this.”

“NO, I am NOT voting for the rule on Johnson’s bundle of funding bills for billions more to Ukraine and other foreign wars,” Greene (R-Ga.) posted on X Tuesday morning.

“Speaker Johnson is not holding Democrats accountable nor leading our Republican majority, he’s actually giving in to Democrats every demand,” she also said, without committing to moving forward with her threat to oust him.

Considered under a rule, the Ukraine and other aid funding may need Democratic support to be taken up for a vote, given the House Republican majority currently stands at just two votes.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks to reporters outside of the U.S. Capitol Building during a vote on legislation pertaining to TikTok on March 13, 2024 in Washington, DC.

With a motion to vacate from far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene still hanging over his head, Johnson acknowledged the Ukraine aid was “the most difficult part of this.”

One of the March polls conducted by American Action Network showed three-fourths of safe seat GOP primary voters support tightening sanctions on Russia, while 63% favor seizing the $300 billion in Russian assets held in European banks to pay for Kyiv’s war effort.

Another 59% support a loan provision to require Ukraine to pay back any funds from the most recent US aid package when the war concludes.

According to that survey, Republican primary voters in red districts found the most convincing argument for the Ukraine aid to be that it will help refill US weapons stockpiles and rebuild America’s defense industrial capacity.

Notably, the other March poll also found that Republican voters were evenly split on whether a prospective candidate’s support for additional Ukraine aid would make them more (33%) or less likely (33%) to vote for them.

Another 27% said a candidate’s stance on Ukraine aid made no difference in the likelihood that they would vote for them.

A local resident walks past apartment buildings destroyed by air bomb in the village of Ocheretyne not far from Avdiivka town in the Donetsk region, on April 15, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

A majority of Republican voters in swing districts strongly agree that Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to reestablish the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence in Eastern and Central Europe,” the survey showed.

Conston told The Post the surveys showed “far more Republicans believe that we need to put a check on Putin and send a message to other enemies that would be emboldened by a lack of action” than those who do not.

The surveys were conducted by American Viewpoint for the American Action Network Feb. 24-27, March 19-24, and March 27-28.

Pollsters surveyed 500 Republican voters in each poll across a total of 187 safe GOP congressional districts, with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.4 percentage points in each of the three polls.

The separate survey of 84 battleground districts included 750 voters and had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.6 percentage points.