US Republicans want a cultural war, according to a survey

The Wall Street Journal has conducted a survey that shows that likely voters in the Republican presidential primaries believe that fighting “woke ideology” is more important than preserving social entitlements by a two-to-one margin. The survey, conducted last week and published on Friday, showed that 55% of Republican respondents think opposing the “woke ideology in our schools and businesses” is more important than protecting Social Security and Medicare from cuts. Asked if they would support a candidate who pledged to preserve the entitlements as they are, 49% of all voters – Republicans and Democrats alike – said yes. Trump has criticized DeSantis for supporting cuts to entitlement programs when he was in Congress. A hypothetical match-up in the WSJ poll showed Trump at 51% and DeSantis at 38% among likely Republican primary voters. In a potential field of 12 GOP candidates, the former president doubled his lead, coming in at 48% to just 24% for DeSantis, with 13% undecided.