For most Republican voters, last week’s announcement by Sen. Ted Cruz that he would pick former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina as his running mate would do little to move the needle in the Texas Republican’s favor, according to a new Morning Consult poll.
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The survey, conducted from April 29 through May 2, found that Fiorina’s placement on the ticket with Cruz caused 25 percent of Republican voters to say they are more likely to vote for him, while 24 percent said they are less likely to vote for him. About half (51 percent) said they did not know or had no opinion.
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| Fiorina Impact on GOP Voters | More Likely | Less Likely | No Impact/Don't Know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Voters (n=1,976) | 18% | 22% | 60% |
| GOP Voters (n=581) | 25% | 24% | 51% |
| Gender: Female (n=1055) | 14% | 19% | 67% |
| Gender: Male (n=921) | 21% | 26% | 53% |
| Cruz Supporters (n=144) | 54% | 5% | 40% |
| Trump Supporters (n=406) | 14% | 22% | 50% |
Since Fiorina’s favorability was last tested, before she suspended her own presidential campaign in February, very little has changed. According to the most recent survey, 41 percent of Republican voters have a favorable view of her, while 36 percent have an unfavorable view of her. That is up just slightly from February, when her favorability was split evenly at 36 percent.
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| Fiorina Favorability | Total Favorable | Total Unfavorable | Never Heard Of/No Opinion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Voters (n=1,976) | 25% | 39% | 36% |
| GOP Voters (n=581) | 41% | 36% | 24% |
| Gender: Female (n=1055) | 23% | 33% | 44% |
| Gender: Male (n=921) | 28% | 45% | 27% |
| Cruz Supporters (n=144) | 59% | 13% | 27% |
| Trump Supporters (n=406) | 35% | 43% | 22% |
Despite Cruz’s vice presidential announcement last week, Donald Trump holds a strong lead in the presidential race as voters head to the polls Tuesday in Indiana. If he secures his party’s nomination, the most important thing that Republican voters are looking for in Trump’s running mate is government experience. Among Republican voters, 50 percent said it is important that Trump choose a current or previously elected official.
About one-third of Democratic voters (32 percent), say that if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, it is important that her vice presidential running mate be a woman. About the same percentage of Republicans (28 percent) say that if Trump is the nominee, it is important for his running mate to be a woman.
There were bigger differences among Republicans and Democrats about whether the running mate for their party’s nominee should be a minority. Almost two-fifths of Democrats (38 percent) said that if Clinton is the nominee, it is important for her to select a minority. Less than one-third of Republicans (28 percent) say it is important for Trump to pick a minority as a running mate.
As Clinton gets closer to securing her party’s nomination, Democratic voters believe it is important that she throw a bone to her party’s base; 52 percent of them said it is important for her to choose a liberal as her running mate, and 41 percent said that it was important for that person to be from outside of Washington, D.C.
