Republican Voters’ Answer on Whether They’re More Loyal to Trump or the GOP Has Changed

Most Republicans told pollsters they were loyal to former President Trump over the GOP before the 2020 election — now the numbers have flipped.

SO WHAT

MAGA is bigger than Trump.

THE NUMBERS

The NBC News/Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies poll, released Sunday, found that 58% of Republicans consider themselves Republicans before Trump supporters, up from 38% in October 2020.

Since the 2020 election, Trump-first sentiment has steadily decreased, according to polling by NBC News and others.

  • Forty-three percent of Republicans told NBC News in that latest poll that “it’s time to move on from Trump.”
  • Still, 55% said their view on the matter is best summarized by the statement “The Republican Party should continue to be led by Trump.”

THE VIBE SHIFT

While Trump’s transformative effect on the Republican Party is undeniable, new torchbearers have begun to emerge from the populist movement he helped to spearhead.

  • Many conservatives have floated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a more effective alternative for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

In the 2022 midterm elections, some of Trump’s endorsements have been met with opposition from MAGA voters.

  • Kathy Barnette, a surprise favorite of the base in Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate primary, has publicly clashed with Trump over his endorsement of celebrity TV doctor Mehmet Oz in the race.
  • “Contrary to the left, President Trump does not have a cult of followers,” Barnette said just before polls opened Tuesday. “We never aligned our values with President Trump; President Trump aligned his values with us.”