Former President Donald Trump is enjoying a high favorability rating among Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters, a Marquette Law School Poll survey released this week found.
The survey examined Republican sentiments on a handful of high profile figures, including Trump.
According to the data, 70 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have a favorable view of Trump, while 28 percent have an unfavorable view. Just two percent said they “haven’t heard enough” to form an opinion.
By comparison, former Vice President Mike Pence saw a 53 percent favorable rating, while 33 percent deemed him unfavorable. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) appear to suffer in their ratings due to the sheer number of those who said they “haven’t heard enough” about them.
Forty-six percent view Abbott favorably, for example, but another 46 percent said they have not heard enough about him. Most, 67 percent, said they have not heard enough about Gov. Kemp, as his favorable rating sits at 23 percent.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has far less of a problem with recognizability, as just 14 percent said they have not heard enough to offer an opinion. Seventy-one percent view him favorably, while ten percent do not.
The survey also asked respondents, “If the 2024 election for president were held today between [Former President Donald Trump, the Republican] and [President Joe Biden, the Democrat] would you vote for [Donald Trump] or for [Joe Biden]?”
This particular survey shows a tie between the two, each garnering 40 percent support. However, this serves as a vast improvement for Trump, as the last survey, taken in November, showed Biden leading Trump by ten percent, or 44 percent to Trump’s 34 percent. In other words, Trump’s support has increased six percent since the last survey, while Biden’s has fallen four points.
Overall, the survey also found 52 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents indicating their desire to see Trump run in 2024. Notably, Trump officially jumped into the presidential ring in November.
However, when asked who GOP respondents prefer to see as the GOP nominee in 2024, respondents chose DeSantis over Trump in a head to head.
The survey was taken January 9-20, 2023, among 1,000 U.S. adults and has a +/- 3.8 percent margin of error. The Republican sample featured 382 respondents and has a +/- 6.1 percent margin of error.
It coincides with other surveys showing Trump’s favorability surging over other politicians.
Further, recent surveys show Trump continuing to dominate the hypothetical 2024 Republican primary field, leading his potential challengers by double digits and edging out President Biden in head to head matchups.