Is The GOP Really In Charge? Republican Voters Think Party Is Divided

When it comes to unity, the Republican Party has seen better days. In fact, 75 percent of Republican voters said their party was split, according to an NBC News poll released Thursday. Nearly a quarter — 24 percent — were pessimistic about the future, saying they believed their party would remain split in 2018.

Read: Trump Vs. Media: Mainstream News Outlets More Trusted Than POTUS, Poll Finds

That perception hasn’t come from nowhere. President Donald Trump threw insults at most establishment Republicans as he ran his campaign last year — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was dubbed “Lyin’ Ted” and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was called a “man who didn’t know how to win.” And last week, a health care bill meant to overhaul and replace the Affordable Care Act, failed to be pushed through in Congress, partially due to Republican infighting and opposition from the far-right Freedom Caucus.

Read: How Popular Is Trump? Republican Support Drops After Health Care Bill Collapses

Voters also believed the Democratic Party was divided, even if that split isn’t on as demonstrated as the Republicans'. Of the Democratic voters who were polled, 58 percent believed their party was divided, and 20 percent believed that it wouldn’t get much better in 2018.

In contrast, almost all Republican voters — 90 percent — also believed the Democratic party was split. About 77 percent believed the Democrats would still be divided next year.

About 69 percent of independents saw the Democratic Party as being split, with 44 percent believing they’d still be divided in 2018. Comparatively, 79 percent of Independent voters thought the Republican Party was divided, with 57 percent believing that it would remain divided next year.

The survey also asked respondents what Senate Democrats should do about Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court Neil Gorsuch. More than half — 54 percent — believed Democrats should allow a vote; 37 percent believed they should prevent a vote.

The online poll was conducted from March 24 through Tuesday, in the days after the health care bill failed in Congress. It surveyed 7,675 adults throughout the U.S., and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percentage points.