WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In a sign voters are taking a hard line against politicians accused of sexual misconduct, a Politico/Morning Consult poll found that half think Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., should resign and a majority think Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore should be expelled if he is elected.
Fifty percent of voters said Franken should resign following accusations he forcibly kissed and groped Los Angeles radio host Leeann Tweeden in 2006. Twenty-two percent said he should not resign.
Voters were more likely to say the Senate Ethics Committee should investigate the allegations, with 66 percent supporting an investigation compared to just 15 percent that do not.
The survey was conducted before a second woman accused Franken of inappropriately touching her while taking a photo at the Minnesota State Fair in the summer of 2010.
The results of the poll also offer bad news for Moore, who has been accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl and making sexual advances toward other women when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.
Fifty-seven percent of voters said Moore should be expelled from the Senate if he wins the special election next month, while just 18 percent said he should not be expelled.
The poll also found that voters think harassment is a significant problem in both the entertainment industry and politics.
Fifty-nine percent of voters said sexual harassment and misconduct is a big problem in Hollywood, and 43 percent said it is a big problem in the federal government and Washington.
The Politico/Morning Consult survey of 2,586 registered voters was conducted November 16th through 19th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
(Photo: Lorie Shaull)
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