(CBS NEWS) — According to the CBS News Wisconsin Republican primary exit poll: Cruz is running well across many groups of Wisconsin primary voters. He is beating Trump among men and women by about 10 percent, and he is ahead of Trump in all age groups.
Trump did less well in Wisconsin among groups of voters who have been his core supporters in previous primaries.
Cruz is winning among those with college degrees and among those without. They are about even among those with no more than a high school degree.
Cruz does better among more affluent voters but still runs almost even with Trump among those with incomes under $50,000.
Cruz runs well among those who said they are “very conservative” as he has in previous primaries, but he also edges out Trump among those who said they are “somewhat conservative.” Trump has generally beat Cruz among those who say they are somewhat conservative. Trump does lead Cruz among political moderates.
As many as 34 percent of Republican primary voters say that bringing needed change is the candidate quality that most mattered in their vote decision; Cruz and Trump run neck and neck among these voters. This is better than Cruz has done in previous primaries. Cruz ran well ahead of Trump among voters who said that they want a candidate who shares their values and among those who wanted a candidate who can win in November.
Sixty-five percent of Republican primary voters said they were very worried about the direction of the nation’s economy, and Cruz beat Trump among these voters.
Seventy percent support a temporary ban on Muslims who are not U.S. citizens entering the country, and Cruz and Trump are very close among this group.
Trump does beat Cruz among those who want to deport illegal immigrants who are not U.S. citizens, but only about one in three Republican primary voters support this position. Cruz topped Trump easily among the majority of primary voters who want to offer illegal immigrants a chance to apply for legal status.
Trump did very well among the half of Republican primary voters who want the next president to be from outside the political establishment, but he only got 7 percent of the vote of those who prefer the next president to have political experience.
The Republican exit poll asked voters, “If no one wins a majority of the delegates before the convention, should the party nominate the candidate with the most votes in the primaries or the candidate who the delegates think would be the best nominee?”
More than half, 56 percent, said the party should nominate the candidate with the most votes. Another 42 percent said it should be the candidate who the delegates think would be the best nominee. However, this varied widely between Trump and Cruz voters. As many as 83 percent of Trump voters said the nominee should be the candidate who won the most votes in the primaries. Among Cruz supporters, 56 percent said it should be the best nominee, and 42 percent said it should be the candidate with the most votes.
