An average of CNN/SSRS and Quinnipiac University polls released this week reveals that Trump’s lead may, in large part, be because of his clear edge among potential Republican primary voters of color.
Among White Republican voters, the race was well within the margin of error: Trump’s 38% to DeSantis’ 37%.
The fact that Trump is doing considerably better among Republican voters of color than White Republicans flies in the face of the fact that many Americans view Trump as racist.
But Trump’s overperformance with Republican voters of color makes sense in another way.
The Republican primary race right down is breaking down along class lines just like it did during the 2016 primary.
Republican voters of color are far more likely than White Republicans to have a household income of less than $50,000 a year.
According to the CNN poll, 45% of Republican voters of color do compared to just 28% of White Republicans.
Trump’s lead among Republican voters of color comes at a time when they’re becoming a larger part of the party.
During the Republican primary season in 2016, voters of color were 13% of Republican voters.
To put that into some perspective, White voters with a college degree are about 28% of Republican potential primary voters.
Trump doing better among Republican voters of color now is after he dramatically improved among all voters of color during the 2020 general election.
Trump’s improvement with voters of color occurred even as his margin among White voters declined between 2020 and 2016.
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