A new survey of Utah voters suggest the home turf of 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney could be an ideal place for an independent candidate to launch a formidable challenge against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the general election.
According to a Gravis Marketing poll released Monday, Trump would beat Clinton 36 percent to 26 percent in Utah if the two go head-to-head in November. But 35 percent of voters in the same poll declined to choose either candidate, instead selecting the option “other.”
Both Trump and Clinton lost their party’s nominating contests in Utah to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, respectively. Trump, in particular, struggled to appeal to the state’s Mormon population ahead of the GOP caucuses.
While “Never Trump” conservatives continue to search for an independent alternative to the brash New York billionaire, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is already polling in double digits in Utah against the two major parties’ likely nominees.
Johnson secures 16 percent support in the same survey, while 29 percent of voters would stick with Trump and 26 percent would back Clinton.
“This is a state where an additional third party candidate could make a serious impact in the general election,” said Gravis Marketing President Doug Kaplan. “It’s hard to see Hillary Clinton winning Utah, but Gary Johnson or the inclusion of another third party candidate could hand her those valuable electoral votes.”
Because of its previous rejection of Trump and reputation as a deep red state, Utah has previously been floated by “Never Trump” Republicans as a state where a third-party challenger could potentially pick up electoral votes.
The survey of 1,519 registered voters in Utah was conducted May 31-June 1. Results contain a margin of error plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
