Poll: Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Vote for Candidate Who Supports Student Loan Debt Cancellation

Voters say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who supports President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel a chunk of student loan debt to qualifying individuals, a Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group survey released this week found.

The survey asked respondents, “Are you more or less likely to vote for a political candidate who supports President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan?”

Overall, 55.6 percent indicated they are less likely to support a candidate who supports Biden’s plan, which would see those making under $125,000 receive up to $20,000 in student loan cancellation, depending on if they received Pell Grants. Those who went to college on Pell Grants would see $20,000 in cancellation, compared to $10,000 for those who did not receive Pell Grants, according to the White House. 

Of those who said they are less likely to vote for a political candidate who supports Biden’s plan, 49 percent said they are “much less likely,” and 6.6 percent said they are “somewhat less likely.” However, 44.4 percent said they are more likely to offer their support to a candidate who supports the plan. 

Opinions are divided along party lines, as the overwhelming majority of Democrats, 89.4 percent, said they are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports Biden’s plan. However, 88.5 percent of Republicans said they are less likely, ad 53.9 percent of independents feel the same way. 

The survey was taken September 2-5, 2022, among 1,084 respondents and has a +/- 2.9 percent margin of error. 

It coincides with a recent poll from The Economist/YouGov, which found half agreeing that Biden’s plan is not fair to those who did not attend college. Further, even more believe it is not fair to those who already paid off their student loans. 

While many Democrats came out in support of Biden’s plan, some, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), suggested it is not enough, as he has long called for the cancellation of all student loan debt. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a longtime champion of student loan debt cancellation, described Biden’s plan as a good “first step,” signaling that radical leftists are not prepared to let the issue go, even with this political victory, which some estimates say could cost half a trillion dollars.

Several conservative personalities have spoken out against the administration’s plan, noting that it does absolutely nothing to hold colleges or universities accountable. 

“It’s very unfair to have a truck driver have to pay back a loan for somebody that got like a PhD in gender studies. That’s not fair. That’s not right,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said, explaining that “the university should be responsible for that,” not U.S. taxpayers.

“The university should be on the hook for this because they’re the ones that have really exploited this system that we’ve had in place for over the last however many decades,” he said last month, warning that Biden’s plan would also exacerbate inflation.