A recent poll suggested that Republican voters are less enthusiastic about free trade than in the past:
By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president.
...
Six in 10 Republicans in the poll agreed with a statement that free trade has been bad for the U.S. and said they would agree with a Republican candidate who favored tougher regulations to limit foreign imports.
That certainly does not bode well for future trade agreements. However, I was struck that in today's Republican debate, the leading candidates seemed to be strong free traders:
Fred Thompson: "in terms of turning our back on free trade, that's not the direction to go in. It's meant too much for our country. And every country in the history in the world that's ever turned its back on free trade has suffered for it as a consequence."
Rudy Giuliani: "the four trade deals with Peru, Colombia, Panama, South Korea that are in front of Congress right now, which the Democrats are trying to block, would be good deals for the United States."
And when asked whether a Dubai company should be able to buy part of the NASDAQ, all but two said yes.
My guess is that even if it's true that many Republican voters are wary of free trade, this is not an issue that particularly motivates them, and thus the candidates are not too worried about losing votes over it.
