Poll: Walker Leads Among Those Who Buy Into Texas Military Takeover

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) would win the Texas military takeover conspiracy theory vote if the Republican primary were held today, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Democratic firm Public Policy Polling released a survey that found 32 percent of Republican primary voters believed the government was trying to take over Texas under the guise of the U.S. military’s planned “Jade Helm 15” training exercise. Forty percent of GOP primary voters did not believe the federal government was trying to take control of the Lone Star state while 28 percent were unsure, according to the survey.

Additional polling data provided to TPM showed that Walker led the field among those who believed the government was trying to take over Texas with 22 percent. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), who have both weighed in on “Jade Helm 15,” trailed him at 18 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) led the field among those who didn’t buy into the Texas takeover theory:

But primary voters who said Perry was their first choice for the GOP presidential nominee were the the biggest believers that a takeover was on its way, according to the poll. The survey found a whopping 76 percent of Perry supporters said they believed the government was trying to take over Texas, followed by 56 percent of Cruz supporters. Here’s the breakdown:

PPP surveyed 685 Republican primary voters from May 7-10. The poll had a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

This post has been updated.