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Poll: GOP voters want delegate leader to win

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Most Republican voters think the candidate with the most delegates heading into the party’s convention in July should ultimately emerge as the GOP’s presidential nominee, regardless of whether he holds the majority of all delegates needed to secure the nomination, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

The survey finds Republicans are more likely to think of Donald Trump as a possible general-election winner than either of his current GOP rivals.

Here are some things to know about opinions on a contested convention and which Republican candidates could win a general election from the latest AP-GfK poll:

NOT LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVES

According to the new poll, nearly 6 in 10 Republican voters – 58 percent – think the candidate with the most delegates after all the state contests are finished should be the nominee, even if he doesn’t have a clear majority.

Just 40 percent think it would be acceptable for the delegates to pick a different candidate.

DIVIDED OVER TRUMP

Within the Republican Party, opinions of Trump draw a dramatic divide in terms of how the convention should work out.

Eight in 10 Republican voters who have a favorable opinion of Trump think the party should nominate the ultimate delegate leader.

But among Republican voters with an unfavorable opinion of Trump, two-thirds think it would be acceptable for the delegates to choose someone else. Another third of those who don’t like Trump nonetheless think the party should nominate the delegate leader in the end.

PICKING A WINNER?

Although some Republican leaders have expressed concern that a Trump nomination would lead to a loss in November, that’s not a concern most Republican voters share. Eighty-one percent think Trump could possibly win a general election, versus those who say so of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (66 percent) or Ohio Gov. John Kasich (just 41 percent).