Warning signs for Trump as poll reveals his hush money conviction could impact a critical group of voters that will decide the election

Details inside a survey about Donald Trump's conviction in the Stormy Daniels case provide red flags for the former president among a key slice of Independent voters who are key to his bid to recapture the White House.

A majority of Independents said flat-out in a new Reuters/Ipsos survey that Trump was guilty of falsifying business records in the hush money case – the charges a jury found Trump committed.

That is the starting point for a series of assessments where independents weigh in on how much the convictions matter, and whether it will impact their vote.

The results come even as Trump is campaigning around the country calling the case against him 'rigged,' while the Joe Biden campaign has ramped up its public attacks on Trump, who Biden now regularly brands a 'convicted felon.' 

There is also a substantial slice -- about a fifth of the electorate – who say Trump's conviction makes them less likely to support the former president. Twenty-two percent of Americans said it made them less likely to support Trump and said his conviction was important to their vote. 

Another group of 6 percent called the verdict important but said it made them more likely to back Trump. 

Former President Donald Trump continues to fire up his base, as he did in Racine, Wis. Tuesday. But detailed survey data reveal a slice of Independent voters called his conviction in the Stormy Daniels case important and said it made them less likely to support him

In a close election, about a fifth of Americans who and about a fifth of Independents who say they are less likely to support Trump after the verdict could be a key force

A 57 per cent majority of Independents said they understand the details of the case well or somewhat well, indicating they had been following the trial, which featured bombshell testimony by the porn star and former Trump 'fixer' Michael Cohen. 

Ninety-two percent of Democrats said Trump was guilty, compared to 16 percent of Republicans.

And 23 percent of Independents said the verdict made them less likely to support Trump and called his conviction 'very important.'

That is a substantial group of voters who could tip a close election if their views hold.

A running concern for Trump's camp is whether a slice of 'never Trump' Republicans who backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley would desert him. The poll also shows a small group of Republicans didn't like what they saw in the trial.

While 42 percent of Republicans said Trump's guilty conviction made them more likely to support the former president, 9 percent said it made them less so. Another 9 percent said they didn't know.

Thirty percent of Independents called Trump's conviction very or somewhat important, with 31 percent of Republicans calling it very or somewhat important, compared to 49 percent of Democrats.

Twenty-six percent of Independents called it 'very important' to 'how I vote,' with another 9 percent calling it 'somewhat important.'

There are also responses within the survey that reveal how some of attacks on the courts and prosecutors have stuck among his supporters.

President Joe Biden called Trump a 'convicted felon' at a fundraiser Tuesday night

Republicans, by a 63-14 margin, think President Biden was directly involved in the decision to charge Trump.  But among independents, just 23 percent agree, compared to 42 percent who say Biden wasn't involved.

And independents who were surveyed want Trump to due time for his felony conviction. A total of 42 percent think he should be imprisoned, with 21 percent saying he should get probation and 17 percent saying he should pay a financial penalty.

Seventy three percent of Democrats want to see Trump imprisoned, but just 5 percent of Republicans do. But even among Republicans, 17 percent want Trump to get probation and 24 percent say he should pay a penalty only, with a narrow 51 percent majority saying he should get no penalty.