Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, debates with an audience member over health care during a town hall meeting in Austin, Texas, on July 6. | AP Photo Republican voters to GOP: Keep working on Obamacare repeal

The Republican base wants Senate GOP leaders to continue trying to repeal Obamacare despite recent setbacks, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.

A clear majority of Republican voters, 67 percent, want the GOP to continue to work to repeal and replace the health care law, compared to only 21 percent who want party leaders to move on. Among all voters, 40 percent want congressional Republicans to continue to work on a new health care bill, and 47 percent want them to move on.


The poll also suggests that Republicans want Senate GOP leaders to shift gears and work with Democrats to pass a new health care bill.

More than half of Republican voters who want the GOP to keep trying to repeal Obamacare, 54 percent, want their leaders to work with Democrats, while just 39 percent want them to work only with other Republicans.

"Despite the legislative hurdles, two-thirds of Republicans want Congress to continue efforts to repeal and replace the ACA," said Morning Consult Co-founder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp. "With that in mind, 54 percent say they want their party to compromise with Democrats to reach bipartisan reforms, rather than working only with Republicans."

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The poll was conducted last Friday through Sunday, as Senate Republicans were working behind closed doors to make changes to legislation for which they could not muster a majority of votes last month.

Senate Republicans are planning to take up a new version of legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare next week, but the poll shows legislators still haven’t sold the bill to voters back home.

More voters continue to oppose the legislation than support it — 40 percent approve of the GOP health care bill, compared to 47 percent who disapprove, the poll shows. That’s greater support than in some other national polls, though the percentage that disapproves strongly of the bill, 34 percent, is far greater than the 20 percent who strongly approve.

Voters are divided on President Donald Trump’s role in the process, the poll shows. Slightly more than a quarter, 27 percent, say Trump has been too involved in efforts to pass the bill, while 21 percent say he hasn’t been involved enough. A third, 33 percent, say he’s been involved about the right amount, and another 20 percent didn’t have an opinion. Among Republicans, a slight majority, 54 percent, say Trump has been involved the right amount.

Democrats in Congress remain more trusted on the issue than their GOP counterparts, according to the poll. Forty-four percent of voters trust congressional Democrats more to handle health care, compared to 36 percent who trust Republicans more.

The poll surveyed 1,983 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Morning Consult is a nonpartisan media and technology company that provides data-driven research and insights on politics, policy and business strategy.

More details on the poll and its methodology can be found in these two documents — Toplines: http://politi.co/2uO3Ukh | Crosstabs: http://politi.co/2sMRKXd