If Donald Trump gets bumped out of the Republican primaries and runs as an independent third party candidate, 36 percent of Republicans and a whopping 19 percent of likely Democratic voters would support him, according to a new poll.
Rasmussen Reports on Monday said that a Trump third party bid would complicate the presidential election even more than it did when H. Ross Perot ran in 1992, a bid that many believe cost former President George H.W. Bush a second term.
Third party support in new poll for Donald Trump. AP Photo
According to the poll:
• Over a third (36 percent) of likely GOP voters say they are likely to vote for Trump if he’s a third-party candidate, with 18 percent who are :very likely” to do so.
• One-in-three voters who are not affiliated with either major party (33 percent) also are likely Trump voters, including 16 percent who say they are very likely to vote for him if he runs third-party.
• Even 19 percent of Democrats describe themselves as likely Trump voters, although that includes just nine percent (9 percent) who say they are very likely to vote that way.
Other recent polls found that a Trump independent run would cost the Republican nominee and all but guarantee a Democratic victory.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
