One-Third of Trump Supporters Say Won't Back Another Republican Candidate

By Daniel Politi

In a poll that shows the trouble that could lie ahead for the GOP leadership, 34 percent of Republicans who support Donald Trump’s candidacy say they won’t vote for another party candidate if he is denied the nomination at a contested convention.

Although the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that 66 percent of Trump supporters would vote for the Republican nominee regardless. The others all say they will do something else, with 11 percent saying they will support a third party candidate, six percent won’t vote and four percent will vote Democratic. "If it’s a close election, this is devastating news" for the Republicans, said Donald Green, an expert on election turnout at Columbia University.

Regardless of what they do on Election Day though, 16 percent of Trump supporters say they will leave the Republican Party if someone else gets the nomination even though the real estate magnate has the most delegates.

The latest AP-GfK poll, meanwhile, shows that Trump’s unfavorable ratings stand at a whopping 69 percent. Hillary Clinton isn’t doing much better, with 55 percent of Americans saying they have a negative opinion of the Democratic frontrunner. “The negative feelings for both are a harbinger of a general election contest that's shaping up to be less about voters supporting the candidate of their choice, and more about their picking the one they dislike the least,” notes the Associated Press.

After the Democratic caucus in Wyoming today, which Bernie Sanders is expected to win, it seems both Trump and Hillary will continue amassing delegates in New York on April 19. An Emerson College Polling Society survey found Trump had a 34-point lead over Ted Cruz in New York. Although his advantage is huge, it is eight points lower than it was in mid-March.

Hillary Clinton has also lost some of her advantage in New York recently. The former New York senator is still leading with 56 percent to Bernie Sanders’ 38 percent, according to an Emerson College poll. But that is a far cry from the 48-point lead Clinton enjoyed in March.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slate..._election.html