Entrance polls of the Nevada caucus shows a picture of an electorate that Donald Trump may not find welcome.
A plurality of those willing to participate in an entrance poll shared by ABC News, 31 percent, said they were looking for a candidate who “shares my values,” while 21 percent of respondents said “tells it like it is.” While neither phrase is synonymous with a particular candidate, Ted Cruz has courted values voters and Trump has depicted himself as speaking truth to power.
Moreover, a greater percentage of Nevadans said the issues of economy/jobs and government spending mattered than those who selected the issue of immigration. Trump built his campaign upon the support of Republican primary voters who adamantly oppose illegal immigration.
Cruz, meanwhile, may be pleased to learn the results of entrance polls from CNN.
CNN reported on entrance polling that showed 78 percent of respondents said the Supreme Court vacancy, created by Justice Scalia’s death, was “the most important factor” or “an important factor” in determining their vote. Cruz has made the vacancy a central point of his stump speech and cast himself as uniquely capable of appointing a sufficiently conservative replacement.
But Cruz may not find as much good news in MSNBC’s entrance polls. MSNBC’s results show a lesser percentage of white evangelicals turning out for the Nevada caucus than caucused in Iowa or voted in South Carolina. Cruz has counted on evangelicals for grassroots support of his campaign.
Approximately 32 percent of Nevada caucus-goers were identified as white evangelicals by MSNBC, as compared to 67 percent of South Carolinian GOP primary voters, and 62 percent of Iowa caucus-goers. MSNBC determined that 23 percent of New Hampshire’s Republican primary electorate were white evangelical caucus-goers.
Additionally, 40 percent of those willing to participate in MSNBC and ABC’s entrance polls described themselves as “very conservative,” while 43 percentage points told the left-leaning cable television network they were “somewhat conservative.”
Trump may find consolation in learning that the Republican Party electorate in Nevada is mad at the government. CNN said its entrance polling shows Nevadans are angrier than other early nominating states, with 57 percent of respondents to entrance polls describing themselves as “angry” at the federal government.
Whether these numbers provide accurate depictions of the caucus-going electorate remains to be seen, as the polling size of individual entrance polls was not immediately clear.
