Pollsters struggle to get a read on the mystery behind his supporters
Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas They seem to be galvanized by the notion that
Washington is hopelessly corrupt and you need somebody who is completely outside the process to
go in there and shake things up" said Greg Moore the New Hampshire director for Americans for Prosperity. Despite Trumps recent success capitalizing on widespread discontent with Washington DC
establishment Republicans still say they arent worried his support will make him a viable candidate.
Immigration really isnt an issue in New Hampshire but for a lot of these folks I think immigration speaks more broadly to a federal government thats not doing its job as effectively as they think it should be or could be."
Moores Americans for Prosperity offices share a building with Trumps campaign. He said he sees a lot of unfamiliar faces coming and going from Trumps New Hampshire headquarters not the states typical Republican activist crowd.
Last month Donald Trump added to his long list of bold claims declaring himself the champion of a new silent majority" of Americans.
Trump has hurtled to the top of virtually every recent GOP primary poll leading many to wonder if apparently he has tapped into an unanticipated source of angst and speaks for more than just a few concerned Americans.
So who are they and where did they come from?
Its a strange coalition of people" said Patrick Murray of Monmouth University.
We cant pin them down demographically. … It appears hes cherry-picked individual voters."
Recent interviews with Trump supporters at rallies ranging from Phoenix to New Hampshire where he was among the first candidates to hire staffers suggest he is attracting not only Republicans but legions of disgruntled Americans who are drawn to his image as a straight-talking businessman who long to be motivated to return to the voting booth and who hunger for someone to shake up politics as usual.
The issues that are driving the average Trump voter are first and foremost that hes not a politician" said Steve Stepanek Trumps New Hampshire co-chairman who supported Newt Gingrich in 2012 and Rudy Giuliani in 2008.
Secondly he is self-funding his campaign so he cant be bought.
Says Lou Gargiulo a New Hampshire activist and Trumps Rockingham County co-chair who supported Mitt Romney in the 2008 and 2012 Republican primaries...
People today are looking for plain-spoken people who say whats on their mind."
Trump supporters appear to initially skew toward an older whiter and more male type voter but no more so than the rest of the Republican primary electorate.
While still under the microscope numerous polls show the real estate mogul faring better among somewhat conservative voters and very conservative secular voters than among moderates or religious conservatives.
At least in that way says Monmouth Universitys Patrick Murray they really are like Richard Nixons silent majority of middle Americans.
Theyre in the middle of the Republican Party. Theyre not evangelicals.
Theyre not hardline social or fiscal conservatives. Theyre also not on the liberal side of the party" he said.
Because Trump had flirted with running for president before without jumping in and because his rise has come so suddenly and unexpectedly not to mention that Republican voters are divided among so many candidates this year data to fully
understand the Trump coalition is still being calculated says Quinnipiac University pollster Peter Brown.
What Murray says definitively about Trump is that he is an anomaly.
In an initial Monmouth poll in June Trump had the worst favorability rating of any Republican candidate among Republican voters 20 favorable to 55 unfavorable a fact cited by many political observers in pooh-poohing his viability.
In subsequent mid-July polls Trumps favorability had pulled nearly even at 41 - 40. The swing was even more dramatic among self-identified tea party voters who went from viewing him unfavorably by 55 to 20 to viewing him favorably 56 to 26.
Ive never seen a candidate whos so well known who was able to suddenly turn around peoples opinions of him" Murray said.
Even as Republican elites decried his claims about the alleged criminality of undocumented Mexican immigrants and major advertising brands cut ties with him a large chunk of GOP primary voters continued to evaluating him in an increasingly positive light.
I usually vote for Democrats but its a bad situation now" said Joan Riscki 67 a Phoenix resident and retiree is an independent who voted for Mitt Romney in the general election in 2012.
Theyre all liars anyways. I try not to listen to the news. I listen to KFYI" a local conservative talk radio station Riscki said.
Matt Bates 52 a property manager from Scottsdale who remains uncommitted to a presidential candidate said he found out about the Trump event from his in-laws who had heard about it on Fox News.
Hes not a politician hes a businessman" said Bates of Trumps appeal.
His wife Stephanie 52 a grocery store manager also now supports Trump.
His views are similar to the GOP but hes not in anybodys pocket" she said. You cant trust the rest of them."
Hazel Powell 68 also of Phoenix is a retired Peace Corps volunteer who said she felt the need to leave the country after Obamas election. A fan of The Apprentice" Trumps reality show on NBC she says Ive always liked Donald with his television shows his aggressiveness. He just speaks the truth" she said.
Trumps fellow Republicans may have strongly condemned his comments about undocumented immigrants as racist but Hazel Powell said he would eventually win over Latinos.
The Latinos are going to support him because theyre smart enough to know: Hes going to get them jobs."
Trump has made the same claim saying that tens of thousands" of Latinos have worked for him over the years and that they love" him.
