LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — A new FOX 56/Emerson College poll found that likely Kentucky Republican primary voters favor former President Donald Trump.
The majority of poll respondents supported Trump (61.5%) in a hypothetical 2024 primary, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 22.6%.
When broken down into age groups, the poll found those between 18-49 were 54.6% in favor of Trump, and 27.4% supported DeSantis. The former president’s lead extends over DeSantis among voters over 50, 66% to 20%.
Trump maintained even support from both men and women, according to the poll.
“Trump holds a base among those with a high school degree or less, 86% of whom plan to vote for him in 2024, and those with vocational or technical school degrees at 72%,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. “DeSantis makes up ground among voters with a college degree, trailing Trump by ten points, 33% to 43%. Trump leads by a larger 25-point margin among those with a postgraduate degree, 50% to 25%.”
TRUMP ENDORSEMENTS
A reported 35.7% of likely Kentucky Republican primary voters said Trump’s endorsement of a candidate makes them “more likely” to vote for that candidate, while 54.5% said it makes “no difference,” and 10% found it made them “less likely” to support a candidate.
“Of those who say Trump’s endorsement makes them more likely to support a candidate, 41% support Trump-endorsed Cameron, while 25% support Craft,” said Kimball. “Of those for whom Trump’s endorsement makes them less likely, Craft leads with 24%, Quarles at 19% and Cameron at 41%. For voters with whom the endorsement makes no difference, the race is tighter: 26% support Cameron, 23% Craft, and 20% Quarles.”
TRUMP INDICTMENT
The former president pleaded not guilty on April 4 for his alleged involvement in a hush-money payment made before the 2016 election.
According to the indictment, Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels following an alleged affair. Prosecutors said Trump is accused of illegally disguising reimbursements related to the hush money as a monthly retainer for legal services, leading to 34 false entries in New York business records.
Despite Trump’s indictment, 48.1% of likely GOP primary voters said the charges make “no difference” on their likelihood to support him in the Republican primary in 2024, while 45.8% said it makes them “more likely” to support the former president.
MORE POLL RESULTS:
- FOX 56/Emerson polls Ky. Republicans on biggest issues ahead of May primary
- Ky. Republican gender divide on gun control, majority support for school safety status quo
- New poll reveals who Ky. Republican voters favor ahead of 2023 primary election
- Age divide among Ky. Republicans on recreational marijuana
Methodology: The FOX 56/Emerson College poll was conducted April 10-11, 2023. The sample consisted of 900 very likely Republican Primary Voters, with a margin of error (MOE) of +/- 3.2 percentage points. The data sets were weighted by gender, age, and education based on 2023 turnout modeling. Turnout modeling is based on US Census parameters, and Kentucky voter registration and voter turnout data (KY SOS).
It is important to remember that subsets based on demographics, such as gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity, carry with them higher credibility intervals, as the sample size is reduced. Survey results should be understood within the poll’s range of scores, and know with a confidence interval of 95% a poll will fall outside the range of scores 1 in 20 times.
Data was collected by contacting cell phones via SMS-to-web, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system of landlines, and a consumer list of emails.
