23% of Republicans Think GOP Should Nominate Someone Other Than Trump

Republicans overwhelmingly expect President Trump to be their nominee this fall, but nearly one-in-four GOP voters would prefer someone else.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 23% of Likely Republican Voters think their party should find someone other than Trump to be their presidential nominee. Seventy percent (70%) disagree. Only seven percent (7%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

By comparison, 28% of Likely Democratic Voters say their party should find someone other than Joe Biden to be their 2020 presidential nominee. Fifty-four percent (54%) disagree, while another 18% are not sure.

But 92% of Democrats think it’s likely Biden will be the nominee. Among Republicans, 95% see Trump as their likely nominee, with 85% who say it’s Very Likely.

Among all likely voters, 87% say Trump is likely to be the GOP nominee, with 74% who say it’s Very Likely. Voters are evenly divided – 45% yes, 45% no – when asked if Republicans should find someone else to nominate, with 11% who are undecided.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted May 12-13, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

There’s a lot more voter excitement about a Trump-Biden matchup compared to the last two presidential elections, especially among Republicans. 

Men feel more strongly than women that Trump is the right candidate for the GOP. Women are more likely to be undecided.

Those under 40 are the strongest believers that the GOP needs to look elsewhere for a nominee. Blacks and other minority voters share that view more than whites do.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Democrats think the GOP should nominate someone other than the incumbent president. Among unaffiliated voters, 51% agree; 38% disagree, while 11% are undecided.

Liberals (70%) feel more strongly than moderates (57%) and conservatives (24%) that Republicans should find another candidate.

Trump’s monthly job approval ratings among all voters has fallen from a year-to-date high of 49% in February to 45% in April as he steers the nation through the unprecedented coronavirus crisis.

Democrats are quite happy with the ongoing media coverage of the coronavirus. But Republicans continue to put their faith in Trump and see the media coverage as just another tool to attack him. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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