MEMO: WICKER IS WELL-POSITIONED FOR SENATE RE-ELECTION; TRUMP

ENDORSEMENT MATTERS IN POTENTIAL GOP PRIMARY

DATE: Monday, January 8, 2018

TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Matt Hubbard, VP Research & Analytics
RE: Survey of Republican Primary Election Voters in Mississippi

Sen. Roger Wicker’s campaign conducted a telephone survey in mid-December to examine the June
2018 Republican Primary Election for US Senate. The survey was conducted by Cygnal, a national
research and communications firm.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
● President Donald Trump remains very popular with Republican primary voters with a 84%
favorable rating (71.1% very favorable). Among those who say they’re definitely voting in the
primary, it’s even higher at 87% (77% very favorable).
● Similarly, the President enjoys high job approval ratings as well with 86% approval (90% among
definite primary voters).
● Senator Wicker’s image remains strong at 66% favorable (68% among definite voters).
● Taken before the recent fallout between President Trump and Steve Bannon, this survey shows
that in mid-December Bannon was viewed favorably by 41%.
● Comparing the endorsements of Trump and Bannon, we see that 74% of voters surveyed are
more likely to support a U.S. Senate candidate endorsed by President Trump, with strong
intensity of 57% saying ‘much more likely.’ Only 37% of voters said a Steve Bannon
endorsement would make them more likely to support a candidate for U.S. Senate, while 29%
said a Bannon endorsement would make them less likely to support a candidate.
● Only 25% of respondents consider themselves to be closely aligned with the Tea Party. A much
larger 49% consider themselves to be traditional Republicans.

FAVORABLE RATINGS

Person Overall Fav Very Fav Fav / Unfav Ratio Never Heard Of

Trump 84.4% 70.8% 6.4:1 0.3%

Wicker 65.9% 37.0% 2.8:1 3.7%

McDaniel 50.8% 26.9% 2:1 16.3%

Bannon 41.4% 16.1% 1.8:1 21.5%

ENDORSEMENTS

Person More Likely Less Likely Ratio Indifferent

Trump 74.3% 11.7% 6.3:1 11.9%

Bannon 37.2% 29.4% 1.3:1 21.5%

SUMMARY
Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) remains in a strong position to again secure the Republican nomination
for U.S. Senate. President Trump remains very popular and has a high job approval among
Republican primary voters, and as these numbers show, his endorsement carries significant weight in
the GOP primary. On the other hand, Steve Bannon – even before his recent fallout with the President
– appears to actually not be very influential among Republican primary voters in Mississippi.

METHODOLOGY
This telephone survey was conducted December 11 – 12, 2017, with participation by 612 Republican
primary election voters. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.96%. Interviews conducted using IVR
technology to landlines and live operators to cell phones. The survey was weighted to a projected
Republican primary election voter universe for Mississippi.

ABOUT CYGNAL
Cygnal is a research and communication firm serving center-right committees, organizations, and consultants. They have
worked with ~160 clients group and conducted more than 400 highly accurate polls in nearly every state. www.cygn.al