A straw poll of attendees at Turning Point Action's annual AmericaFest found that young Republican voters largely support Donald Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024.
The only disagreement they have is over who he should choose as his running mate: Vivek Ramaswamy or Tucker Carlson, as Real Clear politics reported.
The findings, which were obtained exclusively by the news outlet, offer a glimpse into the teenage vote in the last weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses. Turning Point Action polled 1,113 people online on December 17 and 18, while they were in Phoenix, Arizona, for the TPUSA conference. With 82.6% of the vote going to the former president, Trump is clearly the frontrunner.
Second place went to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 7.6%, and third place went to Vivek Ramaswamy with 5.8%. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who has been receiving a lot of attention from the media and has been gaining momentum as of late, came in fifth.
Out of the 2.5% who remained "undecided," barely over 1%, or 12 voters, at the Trump-friendly gathering backed Haley.
Since Charlie Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA and was CEO of Students for Trump before, is still a staunch supporter of the former president, the topline results should not be shocking. However, a subject that is currently dominating Trump globe is finally answered by the survey.
If Trump were to become president, 35% of voters—a plurality—would select Tucker Carlson—a former Fox News personality—as his running mate. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy was preferred by an additional 25.7%. The comments made by both guys at the conference were newsworthy.
When criticized earlier this month by CNN host Van Jones, Ramaswamy responded from the main stage. Jones had referred to him as a "demagogue."
“Just shut the f–k up,” the businessman-turned-politician said to applause. For his part, Carlson downplayed the idea of entering politics himself.
“It's like the weather,” the pundit replied when asked about joining the ticket with Trump. “I can't control it,” Carlson said after floating Ramaswamy instead for VP. “I don't think I'd be that great at that.”
Participants prioritized border security and “deporting Biden-era illegal immigrants” over “election integrity” and “defunding the deep state,” which placed second and third. The DeSantis campaign's signature issue, abolishing government diversity, equity, and inclusion measures, was their lowest priority.
The survey indicates a youth vote increasingly suspicious of foreign help to Ukraine but supportive of Israel's battle with Hamas, mirroring a greater rightward shift. While 55.4% favored giving Tel Aviv lethal aid, less than 1% supported sending it to Kyiv, and 39.4% said the US shouldn't give it to either.
Young Republicans liked incoming House Speaker Mike Johnson, with 57% either somewhat or strongly approving of his job performance. Congress usually has low popularity ratings.
The House was divided on whether to oust former New York Rep. George Santos, who made many false claims about himself during the previous race.
