Exclusive Gray Television/Ala. Daily News poll finds wide support for Trump, Ivey, Britt, Tuberville, Freeze, and DeBoer
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - With less than a month until Alabama’s presidential primary on Super Tuesday, former President Trump holds a commanding lead over Nikki Haley (76%-16%) among the more than 500 likely Republican primary voters we surveyed in an exclusive new Gray Television/Alabama Daily News poll conducted by Cygnal.
“It’s a majority of Republicans who not just support him, but strongly support him,” says Alabama Daily News publisher and Capitol Journal host Todd Stacy. “So he’s got an energized base of support in this state. That primary on March 5th - if Haley’s still in the race, it’s not gonna be close here in Alabama.”
Equally as popular with Alabama Republican voters? Governor Kay Ivey, who enjoys a 76% favorability rating.
“It’s not just about her and those numbers - it really matters,” Stacy says. “If you’re trying to get your bill passed - gambling proposal, school choice - you want her on your side, you want her support because she is so popular. It’s a difference maker when it comes to legislation. The legislature has seen these numbers, so they know - it’s good to be associated with Kay Ivey, it’s good to have her on your side because the voters are clearly on her side.”
Both of Alabama’s Senators remain popular with the voters we surveyed, with Senator Katie Britt enjoying a slightly higher favorability rating (66%) than Senator Tommy Tuberville (63%), though Stacy says Tuberville’s approval shows his fight with the Pentagon over its abortion policy hasn’t hurt him with Alabama GOP voters.
“Getting into a fight with the military you might think comes with political risks. Looks like in this poll, it didn’t damage him nearly as much as some of us might’ve imagined,” said Stacy.
Half of those surveyed say they would be in favor of a Trump/Britt ticket if some of the Washington whispers about that possibility came true.
“She’s a natural when it comes to messaging and personability, and I think that really comes through in these numbers,” Stacy says of Sen. Britt. “In just 1 year in the Senate, to have approval numbers and favorability numbers that high, and to have such low unfavorability numbers. It’s really impressive for a 1st year senator who just took office a year ago.”
Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth and Attorney General Steve Marshall remain relative unknowns to Alabama GOP voters (60% have never heard of or have no opinion of Ainsworth, that number is 52% for Marshall), meaning both potential gubernatorial candidates would have work to do in a potential race.
“Both of these men, if they decide to run for Governor, are going to have to raise their name ID with the voters,” Stacy advises. “A lot of that is traveling around the state, doing events, getting on TV.”
In football, 55% of Republican voters identified as Alabama fans, while 26% were Auburn fans. Both fan bases gave pretty high approval ratings to their coaches.
For Hugh Freeze, 55% approve – 7% disapprove, while 63% of Alabama fans approve of the hiring of Kalen DeBoer while 4% disapprove.
“How are they going to react to this coach that many of them have probably never heard of?” Stacy wonders. “So I agree, it’s probably a little bit of a honeymoon effect - let’s rally around our guy so maybe we should ask the same question a year from now after DeBoer’s first season. We talk so much politics in this state, let’s talk about what really matters, and that’s Auburn and Alabama football.”
Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here.
Copyright 2024 WBRC. All rights reserved.
