Primary Voters Prize Ideology Over Electability

“As party primaries kick off ahead of the pivotal battle for control of Congress this fall, Democrats — and especially Republicans — say they are prioritizing ideological alignment instead of electability when they pick candidates,” according to a new national NBC News poll.

“Seven in 10 Republican primary voters prefer a candidate who comes closest to their views, while 27% prefer a candidate who has a better chance of winning the general election.”

“Democratic primary voters were more evenly split on the question: 56% say they prefer the candidate closest to their views, while 42% want a candidate more electable in a general election.”