Nearly 1,300 respondents called for Reince Priebus to resign from his post as Republican National Committee chairman, in a previously unreported poll conducted on Tuesday by the group responsible for yesterday’s chaotic scene on the Republican convention floor.
The group, Delegates Unbound, sent a secure text poll to 2,082 subscribers on its mass text list around 1:00 p.m. Tuesday. The poll asked respondents to answer yes/no to the question: “Based on his actions at the RNC Convention, should Reince Priebus resign as Chairman?”
At press time, 1,296 respondents--which includes delegates, alternates and onlookers--had answered that Priebus should resign. Only 56 respondents approved of Priebus remaining as RNC Chairman, according to a report of the results obtained by The Daily Beast.
Delegates Unbound formed approximately one month ago to protest rules binding delegates to cast their vote at the Republican convention according to their state’s primary or caucus results. The group has been responsible for a series of dramatic procedural battles--in which they have been defeated--at the Republican convention while protesting the rules that help clinch Donald Trump’s nomination as Republican presidential candidate.
The poll results suggest that Delegates Unbound sympathizers have grown, as controversy over the rules has enraged key anti-establishment and grassroots leaders like former Cruz aide Ken Cuccinelli.
By the very nature of the poll—respondents had to first sign up to receive texts from Delegates Unbound—it is perhaps not surprising that the respondents leaned anti-establishment. The respondents might not even be attending the convention at all, but could be anyone interested in the group.
Priebus was elected as RNC chairman in 2011 and has been re-elected to the post twice since then. The embattled chairman has been criticized for his attempts to clamp down on anti-Trump sentiment within the GOP and for failing listen to the grassroots factions of the party.
—Alexa Corse