Two-thirds of Republicans want Donald Trump to remain key figure in GOP, Pew survey finds

Nine months since leaving the Oval Office, former President Donald Trump remains a popular figure among Republicans, a new poll has found.

About two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents want Trump to be a key figure in the party, according to a Pew Research Center survey of more than 10,000 people last month.

That’s up 10 percentage points from the 57% who still supported Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters attempting to stop the counting of electoral votes for President Joe Biden, according to the survey.

While 44% of Republicans want Trump to run in 2024, another 22% say he should support another candidate who aligns with his views.

Trump lost the popular vote by 7 million votes, and Biden had 74 more votes in the Electoral College. But pro-Trump rioters fueled by the former president’s unfounded claims of fraud stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to try to overturn the election.

Among those surveyed by Pew, the remaining one-third of Republicans align with the overwhelming majority of Democrats in saying they do not believe Trump should remain as a major national political figure in the future.

Trump’s fiercest support comes from conservative Republicans, according to the poll. About 75% of those who identified as conservative Republicans back Trump as a major political figure, compared with 51% of those who are moderate or liberal Republicans.

Most Republicans surveyed also believe that criticism of the former president should not be tolerated within their party. About 63% said their party should not accept elected officials who openly criticize Trump, according to the survey.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Most Republicans want Trump to remain key GOP figure, Pew survey finds