Republican voters who favor former President Donald Trump want a president who will fight for policies they want, regardless of whether it’s harder to get things done, a new poll shows.
The poll conducted by Pew Research Center found that 63% of Trump supporters say it’s more important for the party’s 2024 presidential nominee to focus on Republican policies, while 36% say the candidate should focus on finding common ground with Democrats.
Overall, the poll found that Republican or Republican-leaning voters beyond just Trump supporters are split on that opinion, with 49% saying a candidate should focus on Republican issues while 50% say they should strive to work with Democrats.
In the poll, Mr. Trump grabs support from 52% of voters, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis comes in second with 14% and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley grabs 11%. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy sees 3% support and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has 1%. Nearly 2 in 10 Republican voters say they are either undecided, declined to answer or listed someone else.
Roughly two-thirds of Republican voters, 68%, have faith that their party’s caucuses and primaries will do a good job at selecting the best candidate, while 31% say they will do a bad job. More than half of Republican voters, 54%, think the GOP field is either excellent or good.
The poll found that more than half of Republican voters don’t think the competition for the GOP nomination will be close. Similarly, 51% said the campaign for the GOP nomination has focused on the right issues, while 45% disagreed. Over half of voters also said that the campaign has been dull thus far.
Mr. Trump continues to be the leading candidate for the Republican nomination. In other polls, Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis usually tie for the second spot, and Mr. Christie is seen in third in New Hampshire in some polls. Mr. Ramaswamy usually catches the third or fourth spot.
The first caucuses of the year are in Iowa, on Jan. 15. The New Hampshire primary comes next on Jan. 23.
The poll surveyed 1,901 Republican or Republican-leaning voters between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.