Republican voters split on Georgia Lt. Gov. Duncan calling for GOP to move on from Trump
Pollster Lee Carter provides analysis on how Democrats, Republicans and independents are reacting to the former president following the midterm results.
Some Republican and independent registered voters are distancing themselves from former President Donald Trump following the GOP’s underwhelming midterm performance, according to a new survey.
Trump, a Republican and the leader of the "Make America Great Again" movement, announced his third presidential campaign on Tuesday after having teased a bid since leaving office in 2021.
Last week, Republican Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan suggested the GOP would have had a better showing during the midterm elections if candidates with "real conservative policies" were selected, rather than taking Trump’s lead. Duncan has been sharply critical of Trump's stolen election claims in Georgia.
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Former President Donald Trump speaks during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday. Trump announced that he was seeking another term in office and officially launched his 2024 presidential campaign. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
"It sends a message to the country, along with some other states, that this is truly a pivot point for the Republican Party. This is a time that, no doubt, Donald Trump is in the rearview mirror, and it’s time to move on with the party," he said.
Duncan also claimed that Trump had become a "distraction" for the GOP.
In a survey from Maslansky and Partners that played the video of his remarks and allowed respondents to track their reaction in real time, registered voters evenly split among Democrats (blue line), Republicans (red line) and independents (gray line) reacted positively to Duncan’s remarks.
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Former President Donald Trump during an announcement at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Democratic voters, who are much more likely to have negative opinions of Trump, unsurprisingly gave the lieutenant governor’s remarks a grade of A. Independents also reacted positively, giving him a B for speaking out against Trump. Republicans, were split down the middle, offering Duncan a C for his observation on the midterms.
A number of GOP voters reacting to the clip expressed skepticism about Trump and his future as a cornerstone of the Republican Party. Several admitted they had previously supported the former president but expressed interest in a new direction.
"This mirror my thoughts. I voted for Trump twice, but I’m done with him," one GOP voter said.
An independent voter called Duncan a "very brave man" for speaking out against Trump, calling his political insight "interesting."
DEMOCRATIC PARTY RESPONDS TO TRUMP'S 2024 ANNOUNCEMENT: 'HE WILL LOSE AGAIN'
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio, on Nov. 7, 2022. Trump campaigned at the rally for Ohio Republican candidates. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Democrats were the most enthusiastic about the idea of a Republican challenging Trump, with one voter predicting that the country would be better off as soon as the GOP dropped that "corrupt loser."
"The midterms are over, and suddenly we are starting to agree more than we disagree, it’s really fascinating," Lee Carter, President and Partner at Maslansky and Partners, told Fox News Digital.
Carter noted that particularly among Republicans, there was significant division over Trump’s position among Republicans, likely explaining the neutral C grade reaction.
"There’s a lot of people who are looking to say that Trump is in the rearview mirror, but also a lot of people out there who said, actually, he still is the future of the Party, and he is the leader," she said.
Trump’s announcement comes one week after the 2022 midterm elections, in which Republicans did not obtain an anticipated "red wave" of victories.
Democrats kept control of the Senate and if Republicans do capture a majority in the House, it will be by a slim margin. The former president was heavily involved in the midterms, throwing his support behind Republican candidates across the nation. Trump-backed Senate candidates lost or underperformed other Republicans in the state in Georgia, New Hampshire, Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Florida and Ohio, which Trump won both times during his presidential bids, saw Republicans make crucial holds in U.S. Senate races, however, and Trump noted Tuesday that Republicans appeared on the verge of winning the national House popular vote by a solid margin.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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