Republican voters spoke clearly this primary season: Donald Trump is their undisputed leader. But below the surface, there’s plenty more to glean about where the party stands heading into the general election.
Entrance and exit polls taken across seven states over the course of the GOP presidential nominating fight reveal the strengths and weaknesses of Trump’s coalition, and where the priorities of the Republican base lie as the focus turns to a rematch with President Joe Biden.
The entrance and exit polls were conducted by Edison Research on behalf of the National Election Pool in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, California and Ohio. In total, 12,000 voters were interviewed either in-person on Election Day or by telephone, email and text messages to include respondents who voted early or absentee.
Here are the main takeaways from these polls:
Most GOP voters knew who they would support well before the primaries even started
In the leadoff Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15, about two-thirds of voters said they had decided who they would support at least a month before the contest. These voters overwhelmingly supported Trump — and it’s a dynamic that continued throughout the primary season.
A majority of voters in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Virginia and North Carolina also said they decided who they would support before this year. And in Ohio, which held its primary on Tuesday, a plurality of voters said they made up their mind before 2024. Trump comfortably won all five contests.
This suggests Trump’s opponents had a small pool of up-for-grabs voters to vie for, even in the early stages of the race. While many Republican voters are entrenched in the Trump camp, the former president’s challenge will now be winning over middle-of-the-road voters who are more skeptical of him.
GOP voters were split over a nationwide abortion ban
Just under half (48%) of Republican primary voters said they would oppose a federal law banning abortion…
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