Pennsylvania Republicans seem to be unswerving in their loyalty to former President Donald Trump and his allies ahead of the 2024 presidential election, with polls indicating the former president and Doug Mastriano would be leading in the Republican primaries.
A Public Policy Polling survey of Pennsylvania Republicans found Trump and Mastriano, who lost in the 2022 gubernatorial race to now-Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), with an 18-point lead in the presidential and Senate races.
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Trump leads 49% to 31% against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), with GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence each garnering 5%. In a head-to-head contest with DeSantis, Trump leads 48% to 40% in the state.
Mastriano, who was one of several Trump-endorsed candidates that lost in the 2022 midterm elections, has remained relatively popular among the Pennsylvania GOP since his bid for governor. In the Senate race, 39% of Republicans prefer Mastriano compared to 21% preferring David McCormick and 11% preferring Kathy Barnette.
McCormick ran last year as a Republican candidate for Senate. Republican Party officials have reportedly told McCormick that if he runs again in 2024, the party will rally around him to avoid another brutal GOP primary like last year. Barnette also ran in 2022, coming in third in the Senate Republican primary after surging in the polls during the final days of the race.
Mehmet Oz defeated McCormick and Barnette, receiving the GOP's Senate nomination. Oz lost to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), the only race in the midterm elections that resulted in a Democrat flipping a Republican Senate seat.
"The Senate Republican establishment seems to prefer McCormick and want Mastriano to stay out of the race but that may actually help Mastriano’s prospects," per the poll. "Mitch McConnell has only a 15/62 favorability rating with GOP primary voters and an endorsement from him and his allies doesn’t seem like it would be very beneficial."
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Respondents also indicated their favorability ratings for President Joe Biden, Pence, DeSantis, and Trump.
Trump had the highest favorability rating at 75%, followed closely by DeSantis with 71%. Pence received a 35% favorability rating. Of the respondents, 94% of Pennsylvania Republicans disapprove of Biden's performance as president.