If the Utah primary were held today, President Donald Trump would lose to the state’s Republican senator, Mitt Romney, according to a poll released Thursday.
OH Predictive Insights, which is based in Arizona, found most Republicans in Utah prefer Romney to Trump:
"Republican-base voters around the country back President Trump survey after survey shows," said Mike Noble, OH Predictive Insights' chief of research, in a press release. "But Beehive State voters buck that trend, giving the state’s junior senator a wide margin of victory in a matchup."
Although Romney beats out Trump among Republicans and those who think of themselves as somewhat conservative, Trump holds more sway with those who consider themselves very conservative.
- Somewhat conservative: Romney 56 percent, Trump 34 percent.
- Very conservative: Romney 41 percent, Trump 52 percent.
"Just seven years ago, Romney won a bitter primary battle to carry the mantle for the GOP but lost to President Obama," Noble added. "If he wants to take on President Trump in a primary, he can count on Utahns to have his back."
Trump came in third in the 2016 Utah GOP primary, behind Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, garnering only 14 percent of the vote. He won the state in the general election with 45 percent of the vote, with 21 percent going to independent candidate, and Utah native, Evan McMullin. Romney has said he would not challenge Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020.
OH Predictive Insights polled 275 Republicans in Utah by phone and online from March 15 to 27, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.9 percentage points.
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