Poll: Trump-Backed Candidates Kent, Hageman Leading in GOP Primaries Ahead of Midterms; Impeachment Voters Underwater

Joe Kent is running for the 3rd Congressional District of Washington State.
Joe Kent for Congress WA-03/Facebook
Ashley Oliver

Four candidates who have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump or who are vocal Trump supporters are leading in their primary races ahead of the 2022 midterms, according to a recent poll conducted by a GOP consulting firm.

The poll, taken by the Nevada-based SoCo Strategies consultant group, surveyed 2,500 likely Republican voters across five congressional districts — Wyoming’s at-large district, Washington’s Third District, Georgia’s Tenth District, Florida’s Seventh District, and South Carolina’s Seventh District — as a means of measuring Trump’s post-White House political influence.

According to the poll, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the face of the ten Republican defectors who voted to impeach Trump over the January 6 Capitol riot, is trailing the Trump-backed candidate, attorney Harriet Hageman, by double digits in Wyoming.

The poll shows Hageman well ahead of Cheney, 38.6 percent to 18.8 percent, providing one of the first glimpses into whether voters intend to hold Cheney accountable for bucking the Republican Party and voting for Trump’s impeachment. 26.6 percent of respondents said they remain undecided.

U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, R-WY, delivers an opening statement during the opening hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on July 27, 2021 at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC. Members of law enforcement testified about the attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump on the U.S. Capitol. According to authorities, about 140 police officers were injured when they were trampled, had objects thrown at them, and sprayed with chemical irritants during the insurrection. (Photo by Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images)

Rep. Liz Cheney delivers an opening statement during the opening hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on July 27, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images)

Unseating Cheney would serve as a referendum on her Never Trump positions after the Cowboy State voted three times for the congresswoman before her tumultuous year in 2021 as an outlier. Hageman is running, in part, to replace Cheney after she “cast her lot with the Washington, D.C. elites and those who use their power to further their own agenda at our expense,” according to Hageman’s campaign website.

Wyoming Republican gubernatorial candidate Harriet Hageman addresses a meeting of the Wyoming Business Alliance in Casper, Wyo., on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Hageman was among five Republican and one Democratic candidates for governor asked by the group how they would help Wyoming's economy. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver)

Wyoming Republican Harriet Hageman addresses a meeting of the Wyoming Business Alliance in Casper, May 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver)

In Washington, Green beret veteran Joe Kent, who was endorsed by Trump in September, is leading Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) by close to 12 points, 41 percent to 29.2 percent. Beutler, who also voted to impeach Trump, is seeking reelection in a district that voted close to four points in favor of Trump in 2020.

The poll also explored the open Republican primaries in Georgia and Florida, which take place next May and August, respectively.

In Georgia, Mike Collins, a small-business owner and self-described “pro-Trump, America first, conservative fighter, outsider,” is leading the way in a crowded field of contenders hoping to replace Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA), who is angling to unseat the unpopular Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger (R). The poll showed Collins with 25.6 percent, followed by former Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) with 10.4 percent and state Rep. Tim Barr (R-Lawrenceville) with 8.1 percent. A plurality, or 44.5 percent, remain undecided in that race.

In Florida, state Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-Howey-in-the-Hills) has a commanding lead at 12.6 percent, higher than the combined total of the rest of the field. The poll showed a whopping 76.2 percent remained undecided but also showed Sabatini, an America First advocate and vocal Trump supporter, ahead of his closest challenger by more than 30 points when factoring in undecideds.

Lastly, the poll showed incumbent Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) is underwater in his bid for reelection. Rice, who, like Cheney and Beutler, voted in favor of impeaching Trump this year, is polling neck and neck with Army veteran Graham Allen, 19.2 percent to 18.5 percent, with 40 percent remaining undecided. When factoring undecided respondents, the two continued to poll closely together at 31. 7 percent for Rice and 29. 7 percent for Allen.

The poll was conducted November 28 through December 1 via landline and cell phone and had a margin of error of 4.5 percent. View more on the poll’s methodology and results here.

Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.

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