Sarah Palin’s emphatic return to the national Republican stage has had a major impact, according to the most recent Reuters poll.
Reuters released a new poll Friday showing that in just three days — from right before Palin’s endorsement until Friday — Trump’s standing in the polls jumped seven percentage points. Meanwhile, the poll showed Sen. Ted Cruz falling by six percentage points.
By the numbers, Trump rose from 33.4 percent support to 40.6 percent. Cruz fell from 16.3 percent support to 10.5 percent.
Politico, which convened what it calls the “Politico Caucus of strategists, activists and operatives in the first four nominating states,” said Palin’s support was likely more of a blow to Cruz than a push for Trump.
Palin’s “main impact will be to underscore that not even Ted Cruz’s friends like Ted Cruz,” an Iowa Republican told Politico. “It denied him another media cycle or two, and he hasn’t had a good one for many weeks.”
“It does more to hurt Cruz than help Trump,” added another. All answers in the Politco caucus were anonymous.
Collectively, the Iowa insiders told Politico the events of the past few weeks – criticism of Cruz on ethanol, questions about his constitutional eligibility, longtime Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s call for his defeat, and Palin’s endorsement of Trump – have hurt Cruz as the Feb. 1 caucuses near.
Others said Palin was also a positive force for Trump.
“Over the years Palin has actually cultivated a number of relationships in Iowa,” said Craig Robinson, publisher of the website The Iowa Republican, told the New York Times. “There are the Tea Party activists who still think she’s great and a breath of fresh air, but she also did a good job of courting Republican donors in the state.”
Others said Palin will help bring evangelical Christians to Trump.
“Palin’s brand among evangelicals is as gold as the faucets in Trump Tower,” said Ralph Reed, the chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “Endorsements alone don’t guarantee victory, but Palin’s embrace of Trump may turn the fight over the evangelical vote into a war for the soul of the party.”
h/t: Young Conservatives