Poll: Republican Voters Prefer Candidates Without Political Experience

By Matthew Kling
Published: Monday, June 25, 2018 - 5:05am
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A new poll among Arizona Republicans is finding that previous political experience may not give a candidate a leg up.

The poll conducted by OH Predictive Insights finds that about one-third of Republicans will be less likely to vote for candidates who have previous political or government experience. Only about 16 percent said they'll be more likely to vote for an experienced candidate, while 50 percent of respondents said there's no difference.

About one-third of the poll's respondents identified as Trump Republicans, as opposed to Christian Conservatives, Moderates and Tea Party Republicans. In the Trump Republican group, nearly 43 percent of respondents say they're less likely to vote for an experienced candidate.

"The Tea Party has handed the torch to the Trump base on wanting outsider candidates," Mike Noble, OH Predictive Insights' chief pollster, said. “The era of D.C. bashing and establishment bashing has only just begun in this new Trump era.”

Noble said that since 2012, according to data from political scientists Sarah Treul and Rachel Porter, among open-seat Republican primaries, amateur candidates have been winning more races while experienced candidates have declined in victories.