How Conservative Talk Radio Is Informing the GOP’s Presidential Race

A decade ago, Republicans touted conservative talk radio as a foolproof medium to communicate directly with their most ardent supporters. Democrats and liberal groups tried to replicate that success by building their own left-leaning television and radio stations, with far less success. Now, the tables have turned.

Republican leaders in Washington are under siege from their own activists, in part, because conservative radio hosts are almost as likely to rail against the party brass in Congress as they are to lament President Barack Obama’s failings in the Oval Office. Those views are informing the race for the Republican presidential nomination. The most avid conservative talk-radio listeners ranked retired neurosurgeon Dr Ben Carson as their top pick, followed by celebrity businessman Donald Trump and Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX). Just 3 percent gave the nod to former Florida Gov Jeb Bush (R-FL), the heir to the party’s longest-standing political dynasty, and only a third of these voters said they were even open to voting for Bush, down from half in September. Republican presidential contenders would be unwise to write off this bloc; roughly a third of Republican primary voters strongly identify with conservative talk radio, about 10 percentage points higher than the share of GOP primary voters who consider themselves moderate or liberal.