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Wisconsin Exit Poll: 1 in 3 GOP Voters Would Abandon Party if Cruz or Trump Is Nominee

Amid fierce clashes between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, one out of three Republicans voting in Wisconsin said they would abandon the party if either ca
Image: Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump
A combination photo of Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks onMarch 23, 2016, in Pewaukee, Wis. (L) and Republican presidential hopeful Donald J. Trump speaks Palm Beach, Florida, on March 11.Morry Gash/Cristobal Herrera / AP/EPA
By NBC News Exit Poll Desk

Amid fierce clashes between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, one out of three Republicans voting in Wisconsin said they would abandon the party if either candidate is the ultimate nominee, according to early results from the NBC News Exit Poll.

When asked what they would do if Cruz were the GOP nominee in November, only 66 percent of Wisconsin Republicans said they’d vote for him. The remainder instead would vote for a third-party candidate (18 percent), vote for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton (6 percent) or not vote at all (5 percent).

The numbers got slightly worse for the Republican Party when voters were asked to consider Trump as the GOP nominee. Just 61 percent said they’d vote for the brash businessman, with the rest defecting to a third party (18 percent) or to Clinton (10 percent)—or simply staying home (8 percent).

Wisconsin has long been a swing state in the nation’s presidential elections, but these numbers suggest the party may have substantial difficulty staying competitive with the Democrats in the Badger State this November.

NBC News Exit Poll Desk

The NBC News Exit Poll Desk includes Stephanie Psyllos, Associate Manager of Exit Polling, NBC News; Allison Kopicki, Director of Research for University of Pennsylvania’s Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies; Patrick Murray, Director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute; Maureen Michaels, president of Michaels Opinion Research Inc.; Hannah Hartig, Assistant Director, University of Pennsylvania’s Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies; and Jennifer Su, Senior Project Director, Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The Exit Poll Desk works closely with editor David Taintor to curate the stories we produce.