Thread: Poll: Iowa Republicans Would Reelect Trump, But They’d Also Welcome a Primary

Poll: Iowa Republicans Would Reelect Trump, But They’d Also Welcome a Primary

By Adam K. Raymond
1:26 A.M.

Trump eats a pork chop on a stick at the Iowa State Fair in 2015. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Sixty-seven percent of Iowa Republicans would vote to reelect Donald Trump if the 2020 presidential election was held today, according to a new Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll.

That may sound like bad news for any Republican planning to mount a long shot primary bid against Trump. But in the same poll, nearly two-thirds of Republicans said challengers to the sitting president should be welcomed.

The poll, which surveyed 450 registered Republicans in the state that holds the nation’s first caucus, found that Trump has an 81 percent approval rating among Iowa Republicans. That could actually provide a bit of encouragement to the likes of John Kasich and Jeff Flake, two Trump rivals who’ve publicly toyed with a primary bid. Yes, 81 percent is high, but it’s less than the 88 percent approval rating Trump received from Republicans nationwide in a recent Fox News poll.

Unlikely as a primary challenge may seem, the topic came up with two Republican Senators Sunday. Both seemed open to the idea.

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Maine Senator Susan Collins, who has voted with Trump less often than all but one Republican Senator, said she sees nothing wrong with an active 2020 Republican primary. “It’s always interesting when we have primaries because a lot of times it allows different viewpoints to surface,” she said. “It can help influence public policy down the road and it’s healthy for our democracy.”

Asked if she would support Trump’s reelection, Collins dodged. “I’m going to talk about 2020 in 2020. That is a lifetime in politics,” she said.

Retiring Sen. Bob Corker, who has been among the Senate’s most vocal Trump critics despite voting with him 84 percent of the time, was asked on MSNBC’s Kasie DC if he thinks Trump should be primaried.

“I do think that we’ve got to remember what the Republican Party is,” he said. When pressed to answer the question, he said he wants to get away from the Senate and think about it more. “What is happening right now is not the standard Republicanism that we’ve had in our country for many, many years,” he said.

But even Corker seemed to acknowledge that any challenge to Trump would be largely symbolic, serving to remind people “what Republicans have been about for generations.”

Trump, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to be worried about a possible primary. Last week, when the topic of potential challenges from Kasich or Flake came up during a Fox News interview, Trump said, “I hope so.”

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/...a-primary.html

Of course they would! And 90% of the other 33% will as well. Plus Trump is going to grow his base for 2020 and grow it for the Republican Party. Trump needs to explain and I'm sure he will when he has the time and proper forum, about the cost of illegal immigration. His focus during the 2016 campaign and even much of his first 2 years has been about the crime, the dangers, the terrorists, the drug cartels, the smuggling, the sex trafficking, the murders, the rapes, the gangs, the torture and mutiliation and DUI deaths ... suffered by Americans from illegal immigration, which is all true, all correct and of course of primary importance, to end illegal immigration to make Americans safe again.

But, he also needs to address the cost of illegal immigration to taxpayers and while he does that to some extent now, and I think he's ordered up some fact-finding to get some new and current numbers, he needs to do much more of that because based on the mid-term elections, the majority of American voters don't care about the crimes, deaths or that suffering of Americans.

He also needs to expose the entities who make money and benefit financially from direct taxpayer monies spent on illegal aliens. I'm not speaking of employers who hire illegal aliens, that's a different subject, I'm speaking about beneficiaries of direct tax payments to do something for or because of illegal aliens in the United States. At some point he also needs to address the political corruption related to drug cartel bribes and payola, but that will be tricky business because it's so rampant, widespread and so well concealed.

Honestly, I can't wait for the 2020 campaigns to start. It's going to be so much fun and so exciting, nerve-wreaking too, but still another great time with the Trump Train Coming Soon!!