Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Donald Trump continues to hold a commanding lead in the polls, and nearly 60 percent of Republican primary voters said they would be comfortable if he was their party’s nominee.
Trump leads the Republican field with 42 percent support, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday. Ted Cruz is in second with 32 percent, while John Kasich rounds out the pack with 22 percent.
The survey found that 68 percent of respondents said they were firmly committed to their top choice. Trump supporters are the least likely to waver, with 80 percent saying they were committed to their candidate.
The survey that 58 percent of Republicans polled said they would be comfortable with Trump as their party’s nominee. Republicans also said they would be comfortable if either Cruz and Kasich was the nominee. Fifty-three percent said they would be comfortable with Cruz; while 49 percent saying they would be comfortable with Kasich.
But Republicans Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney did not fare well when voters were posed with the same question of whether they would support either man being the Republican nominee.
Sixty-two percent of Republicans said they would not be comfortable if Romney, who was the 2012 GOP nominee, received the 2016 nomination. Ryan, who was the 2008 vice presidential candidate, did a bit better, with 45 percent saying they wouldn’t be comfortable with that selection; while 42 percent said they would.
Romney and Ryan have both been mentioned as potential nominees from the floor if there is a contested convention.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 505 Republican primary voters from March 24 through March 26. The margin of error is 4.4 percent.
