Two-thirds of Iowa Republican caucusgoers believe President Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election, according to a Monday entrance poll that revealed a sharp divide on the issue depending on the preferred candidate.
The entrance poll of 1,628 respondents found that 66 percent of GOP caucusgoers do not believe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election while 29 percent believe he did.
The majority of Republicans (69 percent) who believe the election was stolen caucused for former President Donald Trump, while 17 percent sided with Ron DeSantis and 5 percent with Nikki Haley.
Among GOP caucusgoers who believe Biden was legitimately elected, 53 percent caucused for Haley, 29 percent for DeSantis and 11 percent for Trump.
A separate entrance poll found that 79 percent of Haley supporters believe Biden was legitimately elected, compared to 40 percent of DeSantis caucusgoers and 6 percent who sided with Trump.
NBC News Iowa entrance poll breakdown on belief in 2020 election legitimacy:
— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) January 16, 2024
Haley voters:
- Yes: 79%
- No: 19%
Trump voters:
- Yes: 6%
- No: 90%
DeSantis voters:
- Yes: 40%
- No: 54% https://t.co/Lk9qzmGO5U
Trump won the Iowa caucus with 51 percent, followed by DeSantis (21 percent) and Haley (19 percent), according to The Des Moines Register.
White evangelical Christians, who were 55 percent of caucusgoers, were split. A majority (53 percent) of them sided with Trump, while 27 percent caucused for DeSantis and 13 percent for Haley. Among caucus participants who are not white evangelical Christians, 49 percent sided with Trump, 27 percent with Haley and 13 percent with DeSantis.
Although 50 percent of caucusgoers said they are not part of the “MAGA movement,” 46 percent said they are. Within that group of MAGA voters, Trump won 78 percent, DeSantis 11 percent and Haley 3 percent. Among voters who said they are not MAGA, Haley won 35 percent, DeSantis 30 percent and Trump 25 percent.
The entrance poll also found a divide among age groups.
Older voters were more likely than younger voters to caucus for Trump. The former president won 36 percent of voters ages 30-39 but 50 percent among those in their 40s, 55 percent in the 50-64 age bracket and 58 percent among those 65 and older, according to the entrance poll.
The next stop for the GOP candidates is the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary.
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Image credit: ©Getty Images/Joe Raedle/Staff and Getty Images/Scott Olson/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
