Suffolk Poll Shows Trump Voters Would Favor New Trump Party More Than GOP

A Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll of Donald Trump voters shows that the former president commands undying loyalty from this segment of the voting population, which could cause significant reverberations in 2022 and 2024.

The exclusive Suffolk University/USA TODAY re-call poll, which surveyed a sample of previous voters from national and state elections who had indicated they were planning to vote for Trump, found a majority (54%) of Trump supporters said that they feel more loyalty to Donald Trump than to the Republican Party (34%).

If Trump formed a third party, 46% would support the Trump Party, while 27% would back the Republican Party, with 27% undecided as to where they stand between the two.

Over 74 million voters cast ballots for Trump, the second most in presidential history, second only to his successor, President Joe Biden.

“These voters more than identify with Donald Trump,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “They feel like they are part of him. Many of these voters feel no real connection to government or Washington, D.C. but they are still very connected to Trump.”

Storming of the Capitol

Nearly 6 in 10 Trump voters (58%) said that the January 6 storming of the Capitol was mostly an Antifa-inspired attack that only involved a few Trump supporters, despite no evidence supporting that claim. Another 28% said it was a rally of Trump supporters, some of whom attacked the Capitol. Just 4% said it was an attempted coup inspired by Trump. 

Senate trial

The poll showed that the recent Senate impeachment trial against Trump strengthened their loyalty, despite the House managers’ best efforts to convict him. Nearly 9 in 10 (89%) said Trump should never have been impeached by the House of Representatives and 93% said that Trump was not guilty of inciting insurrection as the Article of Impeachment charged. The poll showed a lack of viewership interest in the Senate trial among Trump voters, with roughly a third saying they watched all or most of the trial, while nearly two-thirds (66%) said they watched very little or none of it. Congressional Republicans who voted to impeach or convict Trump may feel the wrath of these voters in 2022, as 80% said they would be less likely to support Republicans voting against Trump while just 6% would be more likely.

2024

Though Trump would be 78 years of age in 2024, his supporters are not concerned. Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) said they would like him to run for president in 2024, while 29% did not want to see him run. Yet, 76% said they would vote for him if he sought the Republican nomination, and 85% would vote for him if he were the GOP nominee.

“This kind of political leverage means that Trump will not only have an impact in the 2022 midterm elections but his presence as a potential candidate in 2024 could block out new GOP presidential candidates,” said Paleologos.

New presidency

Joe Biden faces long odds as he attempts to win over Trump supporters and unite a divided country. According to the poll, just 17% of Trump voters say Biden was legitimately elected, while 73% say he was not. Only 6% of Trump voters approve of Biden’s job performance, while 87% disapprove. However, 26% say that Congressional Republicans should work with Biden on major policy issues even if it means compromising, though 62% say that Republicans should stand up to Biden even if it means little gets passed.

Coronavirus

A majority (56%) of Trump voters will not take the vaccine right away, despite CDC protocols and the Biden administration fast-tracking vaccine manufacturing with the goal of 100 million vaccines in the first 100 days. Among those who won’t take the vaccine right away, a majority (54%) said they are worried it is not safe, while 22% said they don’t take vaccines of any kind, and 11% said they do not believe COVID-19 is a real threat.

2020 Polling

The final national Suffolk University/USA TODAY survey of likely voters showed Democrat Joe Biden leading Republican Donald Trump by 6.5 points. Biden won the 2020 election popular vote by 4.4 points.

Methodology

The nationwide Suffolk University/USA TODAY survey was conducted through live interviews of Trump voters from 2020 national and state polls via cell phone and land line users. The survey of 1,000 Trump respondents was conducted February 15-20, 2021, immediately after the Senate impeachment trial concluded. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points. Results are posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center website. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, [email protected].