Much ado about nothing? Few voters say conventions influence their choice at the polls

Do national political conventions sway voter choice when Election Day comes? Analysts have argued that point over the years. Now comes a new Rasmussen Reports poll that finds that the big events only influence 19% of voters when they mark their ballot in a presidential race.

“The growth of state primaries has largely reduced national political conventions to rah-rah sessions for the party faithful, but one-in-five voters say a convention has changed their vote. The vast majority (74%), however, haven’t been swayed,” the poll analysis said.

The Republican side appears to have a little edge in the findings.

The survey found that 53% of the respondents said they had watched “some” of the Democratic National Convention this week. That includes 74% of Democrats. Another 59% overall said they’re likely to watch next week’s Republican National Convention; that includes 81% of the Republicans who were polled.

Those all important independents also suggest an edge for President Trump. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 44% are likely to watch at least some of the Democratic convention; 52% are likely to tune into some of the GOP conclave,” the pollster said.

The survey of 1,000 likely U.S. voters was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.