Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini of Echelon Insights has released results from a new poll about Republican attitudes towards President Trump's likely loss in the 2020 election and how they want the party to move forward.
The most interesting takeaway from the poll is that it looks like Republicans are not ready to distance themselves from President Trump. In fact, Republican voters look likely to double down and support candidates with ties to Donald Trump or even Trump himself.
Overall, 53% of Republicans polled say they want to see Trump remain the leading voice of the party, even in defeat.
This is incredible, really. Typically, if a candidate loses, the support for that candidate completely dries up and voters want to head in a completely different direction. This result alone shows that the Republican party is definitely showing signs of becoming the party of Trump. But there's more.
The #1 concern for the future of the GOP is not that the party is likely to be run by Trump supporters, but instead that "New leaders won't fight like Donald Trump." The one thing that most worries Republicans is a reflection of what many people from the beginning is the main appeal of Donald Trump: He fights.
That fight makes some people squeamish and explains why some will never support him. But for Republican voters, no matter who they elect next, they want someone who fights like Trump.
Say goodbye to the Romney, Bush, McCain, "Country Club Republicans." Trump may be gone, but his attitude and style are likely here to stay. Even those who don't think Trump should be the leader of the party want someone who espouses the Trump agenda, just in a more disciplined manner.
Only 16% of those polled thought the party should move away from Trump-like leaders and go back to the party of Bush and Romney.
This leads us to maybe the most interesting result of all. When asked who they would consider for the 2024 nomination race, a majority, 52%, of Republicans agreed on one man:
Donald Trump.
Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Nikki Haley, even Don Jr. are all popular choices. However, Donald Trump is THE MOST POPULAR choice for the Republican party nomination in 2024. Former Trump staffers have already hinted that Trump may very well be interested in a 2024 run. The surprising thing is that it appears Republicans, at least for now, seem more than willing to stay onboard the Trump Train for another 4 years.
All aboard!
