Poll: GOP primary voters prize ideology over electability

A majority of Republican primary voters believe it's more important for their party's presidential nominee to come closest to their views on the issues than it is for them to have the best chance to defeat President Joe Biden next year.

A full 56% of Republican primary voters say they prefer the nominee be closest to them on the issues, compared to 39% who prioritize beating Biden. The sentiment holds across virtually all demographics, except for voters aged 65 or older and those who consider themselves "somewhat conservative," who are split.

It's possible that sentiment will change as the election draws nearer — after all, it has in the past. While a slim majority of Democrats wanted their nominee to be closest to their views on issues in the July 2019 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, by February 2020, a majority preferred a nominee with the best chance to defeat then-President Donald Trump.

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In the last election cycle featuring Republicans challenging a Democratic president, by January 2012, 54% of Republicans still preferred a nominee who was ideologically in line with them over a nominee with the best chance of defeating then-President Barack Obama.

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Overall, Republican primary voters are split on what direction they want their party to move. Almost half want the GOP to continue to be led by Trump, 29% think the party needs a new leader with better personal behavior and a different approach, and 21% think Trump was a good president but that the party should consider a new leader.

More conservative Republicans, those who have not taken a Covid vaccine, evangelical Christians and those who did not graduate from college are more likely to think the party should continue to be led by Trump. Their opposites in every category are more open to a new direction.

DeSantis is the clear choice among those who believe Trump was a good president but the party should be considering new leaders, with 55% of those voters choosing the Florida governor as their first choice for the GOP presidential nomination. Trump is the only other candidate to hit double-digits in this group (17%).

But among those Republican voters who think the party needs a new leader, the field is split. DeSantis leads with 25%, followed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 17%, former Vice President Mike Pence at 16%, Trump at 12%, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at 9% and South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott at 7%.