While the IRS targeting scandal has taken center stage on Capitol Hill on Friday, the results of a new Gallup poll showed that the American public's interest in the story is comparatively low based on historical measures.
The poll showed that 54 percent of Americans are following the news that the IRS targeted conservative groups for greater scrutiny "very" or "somewhat" closely.
Another 22 percent said they were following the news "not too closely," while 24 percent said they were not following the news at all.
Even though a majority of Americans are following the news very or somewhat closely, Gallup noted that the level of attention is below the 60 percent average it has measured over the past several decades.
The poll found a similar level of interest in the congressional hearings on last September's deadly attacks in Benghazi, with 53 percent following the news "very" or "somewhat" closely.
Gallup noted that Republicans are much more likely to say they are following these news stories closely than independents or Democrats.
Despite the somewhat low level of interest in the stories, the poll showed that most Americans agree that both of these situations are serious enough to warrant continuing investigation.
Gallup Editor in Chief Frank Newport said, "The amount of attention Americans are paying to the IRS and the Benghazi situations is well below the average for news stories Gallup has tracked over the years."
"This overall lack of attention is due in part to Democrats' and, to a lesser degree, independents' lack of interest, which stands in sharp contrast to the significantly above-average attention among Republicans," he added.
The Gallup survey of 1,022 adults was conducted May 14th and 15th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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