The president’s focus on curbing illegal immigration and strengthening border security is striking a chord with Republican voters in Colorado, according to a recent poll.
The poll conducted by Republican polling firm Magellan Strategies found that 88 percent of respondents said they support building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, while 81 percent supported President Donald Trump’s decision to shut down the government in order to secure funding for the wall.
Today we released a survey of registered Republicans in Colorado. What do they want in light of 2018 losses and what is the best path forward heading toward 2020? Download everything to find out. https://t.co/In02QB92Zn #copolitics Enjoy.
— David Flaherty (@MagellanStrat) February 14, 2019
It also found that immigration was the top issue concerning Republicans voters, with 48 percent of the party’s primary voters and 40 percent of non-primary voters saying that the governor and the state legislature should prioritize addressing that issue in their community.
The survey of 622 Republican primary and general election voters in the state was conducted in late January and early February, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.93 percent. The poll’s purpose was to “measure and understand the opinions of Colorado Republican voters who vote in Republican primaries and those who do not” and to learn how “Republican voters want to move forward.”
Among those surveyed, Colorado Republican voters showed overwhelming support for the president, with 90 percent approving of the job he is doing and 72 percent strongly approving. Only 9 percent of voters said they disapprove.
“He is giving Republican voters what they want, and they love him for it,” the poll’s findings surmises.
The poll found that respondents approve the job Trump is doing for a number of reasons.
“First, they believe he is keeping his campaign promises of fighting illegal immigration, improving the economy, creating jobs and not acting like a typical politician. Many respondents express a loyalty toward him because they believe he sincerely cares about all Americans, rich or poor, white or minority and that he is fighting for them personally,” the poll stated.
Some respondents also described the reasons for supporting what the president has done so far.
“President Trump is not a politician. He doesn’t always say the right things and I actually find that refreshing because I don’t like someone that always has the right answer because that means he is telling people what they want to hear. He doesn’t do a great job communicating sometimes, but he is actually doing what he said he was going to do and what people want him to do,” said one 45-54 female Republican voter.
“He is governing with conservative principles. He is trying to reach out to both sides of the aisle. Trying to uphold the Constitution of the U.S. as it is written. Not succumbing to the mob rule, populist mentality.” said a male 45-54 Republican voter.
Moreover, 78 percent of voters prefer Trump as the Republican nominee for the 2020 election, while 17 percent said they prefer someone else.
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), a Colorado Republican senator who vocally opposed Trump in the 2016 election, told the Independent Journal Review last month that he is now endorsing the president because it’s the “right thing to do for Colorado.”
“Look, there are things here — look, I’ve made it very clear that where I agree with the president, we will agree or where I disagree, we will disagree,” the senator told the news website. “But I’m going to fight like hell for Colorado, and we’ve done some good things for Colorado.”
In response, Trump thanked Gardner for his support in a tweet, saying “Thank you to … Senator Cory Gardner for the early and warm endorsement. We will ALL WIN in 2020 together!”
Thank you to Senator Rob Portman and Senator Cory Gardner for the early and warm endorsement. We will ALL WIN in 2020 together!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2019
David Flaherty, principal researcher and found of Magellan, told The Colorado Sun that the poll shows the impact of President Trump and explains why Gardner has now decided to support his president.
“This shows you the power, arguably, about Donald Trump,” Flaherty said. “What he says is what [Republicans] care about, and he’s delivering for them.”
