The majority of Republicans want former President Donald Trump to have at least some influence on the direction of the Republican Party, according to a recent poll.
In an Associated Press-NORC poll released Tuesday, 47% of Republican respondents said Trump should have “a lot” of influence over the Republican Party’s future and an additional 34% said the former president should have “a little” influence. The poll also found that one-third of Republicans are concerned about their party’s future while 41% said they are optimistic.
The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,308 U.S. adults between July 15-19 via cellphone and landline interviews. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points.
53% of Americans say Trump should have no influence on the direction of the Republican Party, but 47% of Republicans say he should have a lot of influence. https://t.co/YTn41Q8mwr pic.twitter.com/w8ioN6JvQi
— AP-NORC Center (@APNORC) July 27, 2021
More than six months after Republicans lost control of the White House and the Senate, the party is now attempting to secure majorities in both chambers of Congress during the 2022 midterm elections. Democrats have already expressed concerns given Republican-backed election laws in several states and opposite party momentum typically observed in midterm elections.
But many Republicans are concerned about the current political landscape, according to the AP-NORC poll. Among those polled, 78% of Republican respondents said they are pessimistic about the state of politics in the country and 63% believe American democracy is not doing well.
44% do not believe American democracy is doing well. https://t.co/YTn41QpXnZ pic.twitter.com/cyxvZF6H3w
— AP-NORC Center (@APNORC) July 27, 2021
One reason Republicans might be concerned about democracy is that a majority continue to believe President Joe Biden’s election in 2020 was illegitimate. Around two-thirds of Republicans polled said Biden was not legitimately elected.
Trump has continued to promote his claims that widespread election fraud cost him the Nov. 2020 presidential election. The former president also challenged election results in multiple states, though court rulings and state officials from both parties determined the election was fair.
But most Republicans believe it’s important to continue investigating Trump’s allegations that voter fraud affected the election outcome. Among those polled, 62% of Republican respondents said it’s “extremely” or “very important” to investigate his claims.