As party primaries kick off ahead of the pivotal battle for control of Congress this fall, Democrats — and especially Republicans — say they are prioritizing ideological alignment instead of electability when they pick candidates, according to a new nationalNBC News poll.

Meanwhile, the nation overall has a negative view of both parties, led by independents.

The survey asked primary voters whether they prefer to vote for a candidate who comes closest to their views on issues over a candidate who has the best chance to win in November. Seven in 10 Republican primary voters prefer a candidate who comes closest to their views, while 27% prefer a candidate who has a better chance of winning the general election.

Choosing ideological purity or electability has been a particularly fraught topic among Democrats over the past year as the party tries to find a path back into power following President Donald Trump’s election victory in 2024.

Democratic primary voters were more evenly split on the question: 56% say they prefer the candidate closest to their views, while 42% want a candidate more electable in a general election, according to the poll, which was conducted by the Democratic polling firm Hart Research Associates and the GOP firm Public Opinion Strategies.

Voters who participated in the poll and spoke with NBC News say that choice is often complicated.

“I struggle with that question because I want someone who’s close to my views, but I know that my views are not the most electable in the state,” said Marley Ross, a 25-year-old California Democrat and self-described progressive.

“I’m tired of having to go with candidates purely on electability, but it feels like once again that’s where we’re stuck,” Ross said. She was not sure whom she would back in California’s competitive primary for governor, describing the candidates as “really weak.”

Jennifer Norkol, a 54-year-old Michigan Democrat, does not yet know whom she’ll be backing in her state’s competitive Senate primary.

“It would be, honestly, someone that has the ability to beat a Republican,” Norkol said, noting Democrats regaining control of Congress is about “saving democracy.”

Source: Drudge Report