Record number of Republicans support party over Trump: NBC poll
A record number of Republicans support the GOP over former President Trump, according to the latest NBC News poll.
About 62 percent of Republicans identify themselves more as supporters of the Republican Party than as supporters of Trump, the poll shows, while 30 percent of Republicans identify as supporters of Trump over the Republican Party.
About 4 percent of Republicans identify as equal supporters of both the Republican Party and Trump.
Support for Trump compared to the GOP has been steadily declining over the past two years, according to NBC News polling.
In an August 2021 NBC News poll, about 50 percent of Republicans said they supported the party over Trump and 40 percent said they supported Trump over the party. When Trump left office in January 2021, Republicans were evenly split at 46 percent. In January 2019, 51 percent supported Trump over the party, and 38 percent vice versa.
While Trump retains a strong grip on the GOP, other rising stars such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are seen as potential 2024 rivals.
In an October poll, more Republicans said they trust DeSantis more than they trust Trump to chart the path of the party in the future.
Republican mega-donor Ken Griffin said in an interview with Politico published Sunday that it was “time to move on to the next generation.”
Also, a growing number of Republicans say Trump won’t be the party’s 2024 presidential nominee, as many argue the GOP should be focused on issues such as the economy rather than grievances over the 2020 election.
Yet Trump still draws thousands to his rallies and has been a central figure in the 2022 midterms, despite not being on the ballot.
Having involved himself in many of the key Senate races, the results of this week’s elections will bring a moment of truth for the former president.
Axios reported this week that Trump’s team is eyeing Nov. 14 to announce his 2024 run.