If anyone thought the Republican Party was in the process of moving back toward the center, this poll should dash those hopes. When Republicans were asked to name the current leader of their party, the most extreme right-wing nut in the U.S. Senate, Ted Cruz of Texas, was named by more than any other person. About 21% of Republicans now consider Cruz to be their leader (followed by Christie at 17%, Boehner at 15%, and Paul at 9%). While tradition is that the party's last nominee for president is the party leader, Mitt Romney was picked by only 8% of Republicans.This should make Democrats ecstatic, because it shows the Republican Party is still far too the right of the general public. We know that Cruz wants to be the GOP nominee for president in 2016, and with his popularity in the party still growing, that nows seems to be a distinct possibility. And that is a gift for the Democratic Party. Not only would Hillary Clinton have a fairly easy time crushing Cruz in a head-to-head contest, but it would raise the chances of any other Democrat if Clinton chose not to run.
The chart was made with information contained in a new Public Policy Polling survey conducted between October 29th and 31st of 649 voters (34% of which were Republicans), and the poll had a 3.8 point margin of error.
