Trump guilty ver­dict to test vot­er appetite for sec­ond Biden term

Pres­i­dent Joe Biden has a fresh chance to make inroads with inde­pen­dent vot­ers fol­low­ing for­mer Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump’s con­vic­tion in his hush mon­ey case.
But if the pres­i­dent fails to do so, in polling and on Elec­tion Day, the ver­dict could end up val­i­dat­ing fears about the strength of his reelec­tion cam­paign.
Repub­li­cans are adamant that Trump’s con­vic­tion on 34 counts of busi­ness fraud on Thurs­day will not dam­age his run for pres­i­dent. His per­ceived short­com­ings are already baked into the elec­toral cake, they say, while kitchen table issues like the econ­o­my will take prece­dence.
The mes­sag­ing runs counter to months of polling show­ing at least some swing vot­ers will be turned off by the felony con …