As a number of prominent Republicans trade barbs and jostle to become the party’s standard-bearer after a disappointing showing in the 2012 election, a new poll finds a majority of Republican voters support significant changes in the party’s direction, but there is no consensus on what direction the party should take.
Two-thirds of Republican voters said their party needed to address major problems to do better in future presidential elections, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Wednesday, and nearly 6 in 10 said the party needed to reconsider some of its policy positions.
No single Republican stood out as the face or voice of the party: 22 percent of respondents volunteered the answer “nobody†when asked who led their party. The most mentioned name, House Speaker John A. Boehner, garnered only 9 percent.
Asked about several party leaders, all elicited stronger favorable than unfavorable responses. Representative Paul D. Ryan, the 2012 Republican candidate for vice president, had the highest favorability rating at 65 percent, followed by Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky at 55 percent and Marco Rubio of Florida at 50 percent. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey was not far behind, with 47 percent favorability, but had higher unfavorable opinions (30 percent) than Mr. Ryan, Mr. Paul, or Mr. Rubio.
And while slightly more than half said that nominating more women and racial and ethnic minorities to run for office would help the Republican Party perform better in national elections, about 4 in 10 Republicans said they did not think that would help.
Among those who said changes in policy standpoints were necessary, the most commonly cited issues were immigration and abortion, followed by gay marriage.
Regarding specific policies, the general sentiment for Republicans was to move further right, particularly on government spending. On immigration, about 4 in 10 Republicans said the party’s position was “about right,†while the same number said Republicans were not conservative enough. On gun policy, most Republicans agreed with their party’s stance.
However, on gay marriage, Republicans were almost evenly scattered, with 33 percent saying the position was about right, 31 percent saying the party’s stand was too conservative, 27 percent saying it was not conservative enough. On abortion, 4 in 10 Republicans said their party’s position was about right, but half of Republicans were divided on whether it should be more moderate or more conservative. (Asking voters whether about their party’s approach to an issue is conservative enough or too conservative has two drawbacks: First, there’s a level of subjectivity â€" each person’s definition of conservative can vary â€" and second, the question requires the respondent to have knowledge about the party’s stance on the issue.)
What may be most worrisome for Republican leaders is the declining number of Americans who see themselves as Republicans, and the growing ranks of independents. In this most recent Pew poll, just 19 percent identified as Republican, a steady decline from the 30 percent who identified as Republican a decade ago. When those who said they were independent but leaned Republican are included, the total Republicans grow to 37 percent, just slightly down from 42 percent in 2003. Pew’s recent poll found 29 percent of Americans identified as Democrats, roughly the same as the 32 percent who said so in 2003. However, when including leaners, Democrats are holding steadier numbers, with a total 47 percent today, compared to 44 percent in 2003.
The Pew Research Center poll was conducted by landline and cellphone from July 17 to 21 among a national sample of 1,408 adults, including 497 Republican or Republican-leaning voters, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points for Republican voters.
