Nearly half of Trump voters would abandon the GOP if the former president started his own party, new poll says

<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5fc98aa8b6a3a800199b682b-2000/trump thanksgiving.jpg" border="0" alt="trump thanksgiving" data-mce-source="Erin Schaff - Pool/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump at the White House on November 26, 2020." data-link="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-donald-trump-leaves-after-speaking-in-the-news-photo/1287973486'adppopup=true"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Nearly half of Donald Trump's 2020 voters would leave the Republican Party in favor of joining one started by the former president, a new poll has found.</p><p>The poll&nbsp;was conducted by <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/21/exclusive-trump-party-he-still-holds-loyalty-gop-voters/6765406002/">USA Today and Suffolk University</a>&nbsp;on 1,000 Trump voters nationwide between February 15 and 20. The university said the surveys took place shortly after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-acquitted-senate-impeachment-trial-capitol-siege-2021-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-acquitted-senate-impeachment-trial-capitol-siege-2021-2" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Trump was acquitted</a>&nbsp;by the Senate over the Capitol riot.</p><p>Here's what the pollsters found, <a href="https://www.suffolk.edu/news-features/news/2021/02/22/01/51/suffolk-poll-shows-trump-voters-would-favor-new-trump-party-more-than-gop">according to USA Today and Suffolk University</a>:</p><ul><li>Forty-six percent of respondents said they would back Trump in a new political party if he chose to break from the GOP and start a new one.</li><li>Of the remaining respondents, 27% said they would still back the Republican Party, while another 27% were undecided.</li><li>More respondents said they were loyal to Trump (54%) than those who said they were loyal to the GOP (34%).</li><li>Half of those surveyed said the Republican Party should be "more loyal" to Trump, even if it meant losing the support of the party's traditional wing.</li><li>Conversely, 19% said that the party should distance itself from Trump and be more loyal to establishment Republicans.</li></ul><p>The poll reportedly had a 3.1% margin of error, according to USA Today.</p><p>The results come amid reports that Trump is preparing to reassert himself as the party's leading light, despite the end of his presidency and his being barred from multiple social-media platforms.</p><p>An unnamed Trump advisor <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-2024-republican-party-cpac-b687bd9f-6702-47cb-b1ac-d112deb23880.html">told Axios</a> that the former president plans to make a "show of force" at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) on Sunday, in a speech designed to show he is "still in charge."&nbsp;</p><p>Advisors are also set to huddle with Trump at Mar-a-Lago this week to strategize about his political future, Axios reported. He is expected to back any candidate standing against his perceived Republican enemies, according to the outlet.</p><p>Meanwhile, former Vice President Mike Pence, who is keeping a low profile since the end of his tenure, has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pence-declines-cpac-invite-as-trump-and-allies-take-over-2021-2">declined to speak at CPAC</a>.</p><p>The eventgenerally seen as a haven for establishment conservativeslooks set to take on a much more Trump-era tone when it begins on Thursday, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cpac-2021-speakers-trump-pence-orlando-republican-conservative-2021-2">as Insider's Tom LoBianco reported</a>.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nearly-half-trump-voters-abandon-gop-join-trump-party-poll-2021-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-if-jump-off-international-space-station-2018-6">What would happen if you jumped off the International Space Station</a></p>
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