Nearly half of the Republicans who voted for Donald Trump said they would abandon the GOP to join a political party formed by the former president if he should choose to create one, a new poll from USA Today shows.
In a sign of the deep divide within the Republican Party, the Suffolk University/USA Today poll shows that 46% of 2020 Trump voters would join a new party led by the twice-impeached Trump, whereas only 26% would keep with the GOP. The balance, 28%, were undecided.
The poll shows how the influence of Trumpism has permeated the Party, and does not bode well for long-term stability within Republican ranks. Trump has vowed to support candidates within the GOP who have sufficiently displayed loyalty to him, promoting challengers to mainstream conservatives.
Overall, more Americans register as Democrats than Republicans, and on a national level, Democrats garner more votes than Republican candidates. A split in the GOP resulting in the establishment of a third Party made up primarily of traditional GOP voters would push many states to flip to Democrats for Governor and for Washington positions.
It would also doom the GOP and the new third party to also-ran status, as the Electoral College selection laws in most states require Electors go to the person who gained a plurality of votes, not a majority, in the state.