- August 12, 2015 -
Alabama Republicans Favor Trump by Wide Margin
Alabama Republican love “The Donald.” The business tycoon and reality TV star is the favorite among GOP voters in the state for their party’s presidential nomination, according to a News-5/Strategy Research Poll.
“Donald Trump is a really serious contender for the nomination of the Republican party right now,” said political consultant Jon Gray of Strategy Research. “A month ago he was a joke.”
30-percent of registered Alabama voters who say they would vote in the Republican primary say they would vote for Trump. That’s twice as many as the next candidate Jeb Bush (15%). Ben Carson and Marco Rubio are tied for third with 11-percent.
Mike Huckabee and Carly Fiorina are the choice of 8-percent of Alabama Republicans, Ted Cruz 7-percent, Scott Walker 3-percent.
Five percent chose “other.” “Undecided” was not an option in the poll.
“He says what he wants to say,” said Gray in explaining Trump’s popularity. “He doesn’t worry about who he’s going to offend. He doesn’t worry about the words coming out of his mouth. He’s communicating a message. And in Alabama, that’s historically how people in Alabama have been.”
Gray says Republicans waiting for Trump to implode should think twice, and recall other celebrities who were willing to speak their mind and who initially were not taken seriously.
“What Donald Trump brings to the table is his unique flavor. He’s very confident. He’s a celebrity. He’s very comfortable in his own shoes. Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a very famous president Ronald Reagan, all were celebrities who were comfortable with speaking their mind, even if people disagreed with them.”
Gray says the poll shows there is no clear cut top challenger to Trump at this point.
“NASCAR is a great analogy,” said Gray. “They’re all trying to pull out and there’s some drafting behind Donlad Trump and they’re waiting for an opportunity. But they’re not on his bumper! They’re a long way away.”
Among Alabama Democrats, Hillary Clinton has an enormous lead over Bernie Sanders, 78-percent to 10-percent.
The Alabama primary is March 1, 2016.
3,500 people statewide responded on August 11 to the telephone poll. It has a margin of error of two-percent.
