The political nonprofit aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is attempting to build support for tax reform on Capitol Hill by casting the issue as a promise made by President Trump that voters want fulfilled.
The group, American Action Network, on Monday shared a new public opinion poll with the Washington Examiner that showed strong support among Republicans for changes to the tax code. The national poll of Republican voters also found deep support for Trump, with 89 percent giving him positive marks for his performance on the job, and 78 percent indicating they “strongly approve.”
The poll was released on the eve of Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress, as GOP infighting on taxes has exploded in the House and Senate.
“As President Trump and conservatives in Congress work on tax reform, this constituency is strongly behind them and overwhelmingly supports center-right tax reform,” AAN executive director Corry Bliss said in a statement.
The Tarrance Group, a GOP pollster, surveyed 1,000 registered Republicans who are likely to vote Feb. 18-22. The national poll had an error margin of 3.1 percentage points.
Among the poll’s findings:
- Three-quarters of Republican voters believe that the issue of tax reform is a very important issue to them.
- 31 percent believe that tax reform is an extremely important issue; 46 percent indicate it is very important; and only 4 percent say the issue is unimportant.
- Tax reform is “very important” across the spectrum, with 78 percent of “strong Trump Republicans,” 78 percent of “Tea Party Republicans,” 79 percent of “traditional primary Republicans,” and 81 percent of “general election only Republicans” indicating the issue matters to them.
- 77 percent of seniors indicate the issue is “extremely important.”
Additionally, the survey showed that, one month into the Trump presidency, Republican voters are happy with the GOP Congress.
- 77 percent of Republicans approve of the job that the leadership of the party’s majorities in Congress is doing; 55 percent said they “strongly approve” and 15 percent said they disapprove.
- Issues most important to Republicans were terrorism/national security (19 percent); economy/jobs (19 percent); and illegal immigration (16 percent). Other issues of concern included Obamacare (13 percent) and spending/debt (10 percent.)
