According to a recent poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates and published at UtahPolicy.com, Utah voters are nearly equally divided regarding their support in the 2016 Presidential Election between former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. When eligible Utah voters were asked which candidate they would choose from the respective parties if both the Republican Party and Democratic Party nominations were held today, among all respondents regardless of political affiliation, Bush won the GOP side of the poll, garnering 18 percent. For the Democratic nomination, Clinton and Sanders took 19 percent and 17 percent respectively.
Bush ranked twice his next closest rivals, businessman Donald Trump and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who both received 9 percent in the poll. This contrasts with the national polls which show Trump with a sizable lead—currently polling at about 26 percent nationally—even after his recent appearance in the GOP debate, where he has since been criticized for his bombastic style and where some of his comments have once again been labeled as offensive. However, the Dan Jones & Associates survey of Utah residents was conducted before the televised debate, so it is unclear at this point how Trump’s performance might have affected his standing with Utah voters specifically. Also making a strong showing on the Republican side of the field in the poll were New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Texas Senator Ted Cruise and Dr. Ben Carlson, who garnered about six percent each.
Fourteen percent of Utah voters responded as undecided on their choice for the Republican nomination, a number which doubles to 28 percent for the Democratic nomination, where “Don’t Know” was by far the most popular answer. The other numbers seem reflective of the fact that Sanders has been trending upward for months in national polls, while Clinton has more recently been trending slightly down. Also showing strong on the Democratic side of the survey was Vice President Joe Biden—who has not yet declared his candidacy for president—pulling a healthy 10 percent. Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb won 6 percent, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley had 3 percent, and rounding out the poll was Lincoln Chaffee, the former Governor of Rhode Island, at 2 percent.
Digging into the survey responses based on the stated political party affiliation shows a greater disparity. Of the Utah Republicans polled, Bush takes 22 percent of the results, with the next closest being Walker at 11 percent. Of the Utah Democrats, Clinton has a resounding lead over Sanders, with 50 percent to Sanders’ 30 percent.
The Survey:
601 Utah voters were asked separately who they would support for the Presidential nomination for both Republicans and Democrats between July 14-21. The survey was conducted by Dan Jones & Associates and had a margin of error of +-3.97%. Stay tuned to The Independent for more Utah Presidential primary race coverage.
