Poll: Trump less conservative than past GOP candidates

Donald Trump is seen as the least conservative Republican presidential nominee in more than 20 years, according to a new poll.

Forty-seven percent of respondents in the Gallup survey released early Tuesday describe the 2016 GOP nominee as conservative. Twenty-two percent view Trump as moderate, pollsters found, and 19 percent consider him to be liberal. 

{mosads}Since 1992, the polling firm has asked Americans to rate both presidential candidates and themselves along a five-point ideology scale that includes “very liberal,” “liberal,” “moderate,” “conservative” and “very conservative.”

Sixty percent felt Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, was conservative, contrasted by 21 percent who said moderate and 11 percent who said liberal.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the party’s standard-bearer in 2008, was seen as conservative by 62 percent. Twenty-six percent described McCain as a moderate, while 9 percent said the Arizona lawmaker was liberal instead.

Former President George W. Bush was rated conservative by 68 percent in 2004, meanwhile, while 18 percent said he was moderate and 8 percent liberal.

Finally, former President George H.W. Bush was seen as conservative by 59 percent in 1992. Twenty percent called him moderate, and 9 percent said liberal.

Gallup conducted its latest sampling of 931 from Sept. 14 to 18. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.