(The Center Square) – Republican voters are more likely to identify themselves as supporters of the party itself rather than supporters of President Donald Trump, results of a new poll show.
The Center Square’s Voters Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, found 56% of Republican voters said they identify with the Republican Party, whereas 35% of voters identify themselves as supporters of Trump.
The Voters Voice Poll, conducted between June 1 to June 4, surveyed 2,585 respondents, including 915 Republicans, 1,013 Democrats and 297 true independent voters, those who do not lean toward either major party when asked. Republican and independent voters were the only ones who ranked their support for either side.
Mike Noble, founder of Noble Predictive Insights, which conducted the poll, said rising gas prices due to the U.S. conflict in Iran has likely contributed to an increased distance between voters who identify with him or the party as a whole.
“With all these economic pain points in these issues, you can see he might be starting to lose a little bit of his grip on some of the Republicans he used to have,” Noble told The Center Square.
Loyalty to Trump has been tested throughout the past two months as voters head to the polls in key primary states across the country.
In Georgia, Trump-backed U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins won in a runoff primary against football coach Derek Dooley. However, Burt Jones, a candidate for Georgia governor who Trump endorsed, lost his primary runoff against billionaire Rick Jackson.
“He’s still obviously performing well in the primaries, but it just shows that drinking the Kool-Aid on Trump may be souring for some of these Republicans based on what they’re feeling with the financial pinch,” Noble said.
Younger voters were more likely to support the Republican Party over Trump, particularly compared to older voters. About 60% of voters ages 18-29 said they were supporters of the Republican Party, compared to voters age 65 years or older at 56%.
Among respondents who said they voted for Trump, 55% said they identified more as a supporter of the Republican Party than the president. Noble said Trump's foreign policy such as the conflict with Iran leading to higher energy costs has been a self-inflicted wound that is reflected in the data.
“This foreign policy is really hurting people domestically,” Noble said. “[Voters] thought he'd do better financially, because people were already feeling that economic pain going into it.”
While voters showed waning support for Trump, respondents appeared ready to support members of the president’s cabinet. About 58% of voters who said they would support Vice President JD Vance in a hypothetical Republican party presidential primary more closely supported the Republican Party
About 53% of voters who supported Marco Rubio closely identified as supporters of the Republican Party as well. Additionally, 67% of hypothetical Ron DeSantis voters said they more closely identify as supporters of the Republican party.
