Exclusive: The Jan. 6 hearings sparked headlines but haven't changed many minds, poll shows

The explosive congressional hearings into the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol have sparked headlines, but an exclusive Paste BN/Suffolk University Poll finds that they aren't changing many minds.

Among Republicans, just 7% say the dramatic presentations by the special House committee have made them view the attack as more serious than they had thought; only 6% say they now believe then-President Donald Trump was more involved than they had thought. 

While the hearings have revealed sometimes-shocking testimony about the events surrounding that day, the survey finds little evidence for the hopes of some Democrats that they might transform public opinion or affect the midterm elections. 

Instead, most Democrats have found their critical views of the assault and the former president reinforced, while Republicans overwhelmingly dismiss the findings as unsurprising and the committee as partisan. About 6 in 10 independents say their views haven't changed, though 31% say they now view the attack as more serious than they did before. 

See for yourself: Chilling images from the Capitol riot: Jan. 6 insurrection in photos

"I think it's nonsense; I think it's insane," says Republican Danielle Cobb, 34, a real estate appraiser from Tucson, Arizona, who was among those called in the survey. Though some people did things that were wrong, she said, "the left side" is lying about what happened. Capitol Police "let people in," she said, an account at odds with testimony given at the hearings and video of the riot as it unfolded.

But Democrat Joseph Simon, 60, a data analyst from Mountain View, California, says the committee already has achieved its biggest goal.

"Just something for the historical record, quite frankly, (for) 10, 20, 30, 100 years from now," he said in a follow-up interview. "Regardless of what your politics are, it needs to be thoroughly investigated, and that's what they're doing."

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the panel's Republican vice chair, has been "a decent person and a patriot," he said. "I don't know if that's changed anything, but it's kind of reinforced my belief that we just need people who simply believe in democracy."

'Jan. 6 ain't over': Capitol Police injured by rioters front and center for hearings

The poll was taken by landline and cellphone from Friday through Monday, after the committee's prime-time hearing Thursday dissecting Trump's actions and inaction during more than three hours as the Capitol was attacked. The survey of 1,000 registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

The partisan divide is wide on every question:

• Democrats are tuning in; Republicans are not. Seventy-two percent of Democrats say they are paying "a lot" or "a fair amount" of attention to the hearings. But 78% of Republicans say they are paying "not very much" attention or "none at all." Among independents, 47% are paying attention; 52% are not.
• Democrats call the committee fair; Republicans call it partisan. Independents split almost evenly, 42%-40%, on whether the panel has generally done a good job pursuing the truth or generally been partisan. But there was little disagreement among Democrats (80% say the panel is pursuing the truth) or among Republicans (75% say it is mostly partisan). 
• The hearings generally have widened the partisan divide of voters’ views. By 56%-2%, Democrats say the hearings have made them see Jan. 6 as more serious, rather than less serious. But by 15%-7%, Republicans say the hearings have made them see the assault as less serious; an overwhelming 69% say the hearings haven't changed their views. Similarly, by 59%-1%, Democrats say they now believe Trump was more involved; by 17%-6% Republicans say they now believe he was less involved. Sixty-nine percent in the GOP say their opinions haven't changed.
• Three in 10 independents say they now see Jan. 6 as more serious. By 31%-4%, they say the hearings made them view the Capitol assault as more serious than they had thought, rather than less serious. By 29%-5%, they now see Trump as more involved in what happened. 

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