The third Republican debate Wednesday in Boulder, Colo., is likely to attract millions of right-leaning viewers, much like the previous two, according to a new poll.
A new Economist/YouGov poll taken between Oct. 23-27 shows virtually the same percentage of Republicans, 65 percent, plan to tune into the political spectacle Wednesday evening as did for the first two GOP debates. Meanwhile, 46 percent of Republicans claims they will tune in for the happy hour debate featuring candidates polling at less than 3 percent nationally.
Much of the sustained interest in the debates appears to stem from undecided Republican voters who still searching for a candidate they agree with on most issues. Nearly twice as many Republicans (66 percent) said voting for someone who “shares their views” is more important to them in the primaries than supporting a candidate based on his or her electability (29 percent).
Heading into the third debate, the fight against ISIS, President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran and immigration reform are the top three issues most important to Republican voters as they decide whether to support the GOP nominee next November. Fifty percent or more also said they would take a candidate’s position on guns, tax reform and Obamacare would be taken into serious consideration before casting their vote.
With 32 percent support, Donald Trump, who will take center stage once again in the third debate, maintained his position as the top of the GOP field in the poll of roughly 500 self-identified Republicans. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who’s now leading Trump in Iowa, earned 18 percent, followed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 11 percent.
When first and second choice preferences were combined, Trump and Carson were separated by just one point with 43 and 42 percent, respectively. Carson, however, was slightly more likely than Trump to be seen as capable of winning the general election (76-74 percent), though his lead is well within the poll’s 3 percent margin of error.
The two outsider candidates, who top the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings, will square off at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday in the economy-themed debate hosted by CNBC.
