Based on a recent poll commissioned for Indy Politics and Crossroads Public Affairs, Donald Trump maintains his popularity with Republican voters.
A survey of 500 likely Republican Primary voters taken between March 24th and 25th finds that 73% have a favorable opinion of the former president, while 25% have an unfavorable one. 49% of Republicans say they have a very favorable opinion of Trump.
His popularity is strongest with older voters, where 77% of those 50-64 years of age and 74% of seniors have a favorable opinion of him, while 56% of those 18-34 years of age view him favorably, but 41% view him unfavorably.
Among self-identifying very conservative voters, Trump has his strongest image with not just 89% having a favorable opinion of him, but 66% report having a very favorable one.
“The president’s popularity among his base isn’t quite what it once was but he remains extremely popular with Republicans and that won’t change any time soon,” says pollster Andrew Weissert.
Despite Trump locking up the Republican nomination, his voters are still motivated to turn out and vote in next month’s Republican primary election.
69% say they still plan to show up and vote for him while 15% say they plan to vote for someone else, 8% are unsure who they’ll vote for, and just 6% say they’ll skip voting for president but plan to vote on down-ballot races.
“While those numbers may not seem as strong for the Republican nominee, a look under the hood shows that his standing with Indiana Republicans is not in question,” says Weissert.
91% of self-identifying Republicans (remember, Indiana is a partially open primary state, and so Independents and Democrats can vote in the Republican primary) will vote for Trump.
And if we factor out those who don’t plan to vote in the presidential primary or who are unsure at this point, Trump’s support jumps to 82% among those who will vote on a presidential nominee.
“Those numbers are consistent with the former president’s performances in recent states like Illinois (where he got 81%), Ohio (79%), Florida (81%), Arizona (79%), and Kansas (76%),” says Weissert. “I expect his performance next month to be consistent with how he’s doing around the country.”
Looking ahead to the General Election, 73% of likely Republican primary voters say they plan to vote for Trump when he faces off against President Joe Biden in the fall. 8% say they’ll vote for Biden, while 7% say they’ll vote for Independent Robert Kennedy, Jr., 6% say someone else, and 6% are undecided.
However, among self-identifying Republicans, 82% will vote for Trump and just 4% will vote for Biden. 6% say they’ll vote for Kennedy, 4% someone else, and 4% are undecided.
Pollster Andrew Weissert gave this assessment of the General Election. “Given Hoosiers ability to vote straight ticket, the fact that Joe Biden is only getting 4%, tells me that there likely isn’t going to be a swell of Republicans voting against Trump in the fall. I expect most of those saying they’ll vote for someone else or are undecided to ultimately vote straight ticket and you’ll see Trump’s vote share with Republicans up in the 90% range, consistent with what you’d expect.”
