"If a political candidate for office says they believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump, are you more likely to vote for that candidate, or less likely to vote for that candidate, or doesn’t it make a difference?"

That's a question asked on a new Quinnipiac poll of registered voters. The word "stolen" skews the question. You're not asked about a political candidate who merely questions the results of the election, worries about fraud, thinks there were problems, or thinks the investigations and legal proceedings were cut short. You're only asked about a candidate who believes the election was stolen. 

Anyway, with respect to that hypothetical and extreme candidate, only 45% of registered voters said they were less likely to vote for him/her — not that they'd definitely refuse to vote for him, but only they were less likely to vote for him. That is, the belief alone would not cancel him. He is not by virtue of that one belief a crazy/evil person. 

And 54% of people did not count the belief — the extreme belief — against the candidate at all. Of this group, 35% said it would make no difference, 4% didn't know or didn't answer, and 15% said they'd be more likely to vote for the person. 

What if the question had posited the belief in a less extreme form? For example: What if a political candidate questions the accuracy of the vote counts in the 2020 presidential election....? Or: What if a political candidate says there should have been more extensive investigations into the vote counts in the 2020 presidential election....? 

Elsewhere in the poll, there's this question: "Which comes closer to your point of view regarding former President Trump and the 2020 presidential election: he truly believed that there was widespread voter fraud or he deliberately spread false information that there was widespread voter fraud?"

That's less extremely stated, since there could be "widespread voter fraud" in an election that Trump still lost or that was not "stolen."

But the question is about Trump's state of mind, and the words "truly" and "deliberately" intensify the distinction. Then you're asked which side of this distinction is "closer to your point of view." 

What are you supposed to say if you think Trump was in fighting mode and grasping at hopes, subject to some wishful thinking, and not scrupulous about his factual statements? The poll shows 43% feel closer to the idea that he truly believed, and 48% feel closer to the idea that he deliberately spread false information.

There's also a question about how much responsibility Trump has for the "storming of the U.S. Capitol." Only 41% say "a lot." The rest say "some" (18%), "not much" (14%), "none at all" (25%), or they don't know (2%). 

Finally, there's a question, "Have you learned any new information about the attack on the U.S. Capitol from the January 6 hearings, or not?" Only 36% say "yes."

I'd sum all that up by saying January 6 isn't going to work to distract us from pressing ongoing problems as we go into the election season.