Likely Republican voters from a handful of states inside the country’s Bible Belt region sided by a margin of 4-to-1 with Donald Trump over Pope Francis regarding the pontiff’s criticism of the candidate’s Christian faith.
A new Purple Strategies poll found GOP primary voters in the “SEC Primary” states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia were asked to pick a side, based on what they had heard about the pope’s condemnation of Trump’s principles. Forty-eight percent of respondents backed up Trump, while just 15 percent stood by Francis.
The firm then asked the respondents the same question, but first had them read a summary of the Feb. 18 incident. While visiting Mexico, the pope had said, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” Trump responded, “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as president I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened.”
In the second question, a large portion of the 38 percent who had previously said they wouldn’t support either or weren’t sure who they would support flocked to Trump, a Presbyterian. He picked up an additional 16 percent, bringing him to 64 percent total. Pope Francis remained at 15 percent, while those who would not pick a side made up 16 percent of voters.
The Feb. 22-24 survey had a 2.8 percent margin of error, but could be a good indicator for how loyal Christians in upcoming primary states are to the Manhattan billionaire by taking his side over the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
“These voters rate Trump as the least conservative and the least committed Christian of the three top candidates, and yet he still leads,” said pollster Doug Usher, who led the survey. “He’s turning everything we thought we knew about Republican primary voters on its head.”
The March 1 primaries will encompass 11 states in the south and southeast. Delegates will be awarded on a proportional basis so candidates who do not finish in first place will still receive delegates.
