Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have the most support among active-duty U.S. troops, according to a survey released Monday. That’s in spite of the fact that Trump has had to retract some statements on foreign policy and Sanders has refused to focus on it.
Almost 27 percent of those surveyed said they would support Trump, while 22 percent said they would support Sanders.
Among military officers, Trump leads the GOP field, but by a much smaller margin, with only a 3-point victory over Ted Cruz. On the enlisted side, the margin is wider.
The findings come from a Military Times survey of nearly 1,000 active-duty subscribers. While the publication admits it is not a scientific poll of troops’ voting preferences, it does suggest that those in uniform agree with the outsider message that has gained wide support this election.
Despite his lack of foreign policy expertise, some analysts have suggested Trump’s confident tone and decisive demeanor appeal to troops who want to follow a strong leader.
But it’s not like all troops love the bombastic reality TV star who has threatened to bring back waterboarding, and worse. Three individuals wrote in a comment box on the survey that they would leave the military if Trump becomes the next commander in chief.
The survey included preference by military service. In the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Trump leads by a wide margin. In the Air Force, which is considered the most religious of the services, Cruz is just one point behind Trump.
Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state, got support from only 11 percent of those surveyed. John Kasich, who previously served on the armed services committees in Congress, and Sen.Marco Rubio, who has presented one of the more comprehensive and expensive national security plans, got only 7.7 percent and 9.33 percent respectively.
Despite that, nearly half of troops surveyed said they were unhappy with the conversation about national security so far in the election.
Troops in five states will go to the polls today to vote in Democratic and Republican primaries: Ohio, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri.
