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Republican voters embrace Trump on Israel and Iran, reject Tucker Carlson

A new survey finds likely GOP voters overwhelmingly support the Iran war effort and prefer candidates backed by Trump rather than Tucker Carlson

Daniel Torok/White House via Getty Images

President Donald Trump oversees "Operation Epic Fury" at Mar-a-Lago on February 28, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida.

Republican voters expressed strong support for President Donald Trump’s military action against Iran, and would decidedly prefer a GOP congressional candidate who advocates for the war’s aims, according to a new survey from pollster J.L. Partners.

The poll, which surveyed 1,018 likely GOP voters between March 17-18, finds that an overwhelming share of Republicans (83%) support Trump’s war against Iran, with just 9% opposing. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Republicans said they “strongly support” Trump’s war efforts.

Among self-identified MAGA-aligned Republicans, a whopping 92% of respondents support the war in Iran, with 76% strongly supporting it.

In addition, nearly three-quarters of Republicans (74%) said that the U.S. should continue its military campaign and finish destroying Iran’s military capabilities, as opposed to the 16% who preferred the U.S. stop its military campaign and not get involved in any wars in the Middle East.

The poll also found a sizable share of Republicans holds negative views towards far-right, antisemitic podcaster Tucker Carlson, even as many media outlets claim he speaks for the MAGA movement. Only 40% of Republicans hold a favorable view of Carlson, while nearly one-quarter of respondents view him unfavorably.

When GOP voters were asked whether they’d prefer a candidate endorsed by Trump or by Carlson and Megyn Kelly, a whopping 80% preferred a Trump-backed candidate, with just 7% siding with the podcasters.

Asked whether voters trust Trump’s position on Iran or Carlson and Kelly’s view, 83% sided with Trump while just 6% sided with the far-right podcasters.

In addition, when Republican respondents were asked their reaction if a GOP candidate were to share Carlson and Kelly’s positions on Israel and Iran, only 19% said they would be more likely to support such a candidate while 55% said they would be less likely to support such a candidate.

The survey also offers a reminder that podcasts remain a niche form of media among Republican audiences, with only 15% saying they “primarily” get their news from YouTube or podcasts. By contrast, nearly half get their news from Fox News or other cable news outlets, while 19% say their main source of information is from social media platforms like X.

The polling matches the election outcomes in Republican primaries this year. Already, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a rare anti-Israel voice in the party, resigned from office and is expected to be replaced by a stalwart supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the few anti-Israel Republicans remaining in Congress, is facing the fight of his political career against Trump-endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein.

There also are very few GOP candidates running as critics of Israel or the Iran war, despite the outsized attention Carlson and Kelly receive in the national press.

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