The vast majority of Republicans would like to see a conservative receive the nomination in the 2016 presidential race, according to a survey released by Gallup Monday.
The findings were similar to what was seen in 2007, with six out of 10 Republicans and center-right independents calling for a conservative to very-conservative candidate.
Just one in three said they would prefer a moderate nominee, while 7 percent said they would back a liberal or very liberal candidate.
Gallup poll.
Despite the numbers, real-estate mogul Donald Trump, who strays from traditional conservative ideology on a number of issues, remains the frontrunner in the race.
“As the 2016 primary contests draw nearer, several of the more than dozen Republican presidential candidates continue to jockey for the unofficial status of being the race’s ‘true conservative,'” the survey reads. “Several of his views are not ideologically pure, but his positions on immigration — the marquee issue of his campaign — are arguably to the right of every other candidate in the race, and may explain his relatively strong appeal to very conservative Republicans.”
The opposite seemed to be true among Democrats, with 40 percent saying they would prefer a moderate candidate while just 30 percent called for a liberal to very-liberal nominee.
Gallup poll.
The poll was based on phone interviews with 366 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and 363 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents from Dec. 2-6 and leaves a margin of error of ±7 percentage points.
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