Poll: GOP Voters Not As Divided As Many Think

As Speaker of the House, Republican Paul Ryan continues to withhold his endorsement from presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. While some in the party have said he is only contributing to the divisions plaguing the GOP, a new poll suggests that Republicans may not be as divided as some may suggest.

According to a Gallup poll, released on May 10, Trump has a 64 percent favorable rating among his own party. That means that roughly two out of every three rank-and-file Republicans are on board for a Trump presidency.

Likewise, Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has 70 percent favorability among her own party – higher than Trump’s equivalent.

“The process of unifying the Republican Party, which just finished a primary about a week ago, perhaps one of the most divisive primaries in memory, takes some time,” Ryan said after his meeting with Trump on May 12, reports Politico. “Look, there are people who were for Donald Trump, who were for Ted Cruz, for John Kasich, who were for Marco Rubio and everybody else, and it’s very important that we don’t fake unifying, we don’t pretend unification.”

But if Ryan’s hold-out is more indicative of the GOP Establishment coming to terms with their candidate, Trump’s support may be indicative of Republicans’ attitude towards the Democratic front-runner.

A CNN/ORC poll, conducted April 28-May 1, asked Trump voters: “Would that be more a vote to express support for Donald Trump or more to express opposition to Hillary Clinton?” NPR reports.

Forty-three percent of respondents said their Trump vote was “Support for Trump,” while 57 percent said their vote was in “opposition to Clinton.”

And it turns out it goes both ways. Of those voting for Clinton, 48 percent gave her their vote in “Support of Clinton,” while 51 percent said their vote was in “opposition to Trump.”

Sources: Gallup, NPR, Politico / Photo Credit: Donald Trump/Instagram