DFP Coronavirus Response Tracking Poll Week 36

By Brian Schaffner Tufts University

Summary

Eight weeks since our last coronavirus tracking poll and over a month since the presidential election, Americans remain concerned about the pandemic and continue to want new stimulus legislation from the federal government to address the crisis. 42% of Americans report that they strongly disapprove of President Trump’s handling of the pandemic, compared to just 25% who strongly approve. Trump is also the individual who Americans blame for the state of the pandemic over other politicians. 43% of Americans identified Trump as “who would you say is”mostly to blame for the state of the coronavirus pandemic," while fewer Americans pointed the finger at congressional Democrats or Republicans. In contrast to Trump, President-elect Joe Biden continues to receive positive ratings on his handling of coronavirus; 54% approve of Biden’s handling of the pandemic while just 36% disapprove.

Well over half of Americans (59%) can now think of a friend, family member, or co-worker who has contracted coronavirus. In fact, 30% of respondents in this most recent wave of the survey say they know a family member who had coronavirus. As the number of cases is surging across the United States, people are reporting that they are doing somewhat less socializing than they were in the Fall and over 90% of Americans continue to report wearing a mask in public places. One-in-three Americans now report that they have been tested for coronavirus at some point during this year.

Finally, Americans continue to express a strong preference for additional relief from the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. The HEROES Act, which was passed by the House but has stalled in the Senate, continues to be very popular – just 17% say they oppose the legislation with 72% in support. We also asked Americans about the new bipartisan stimulus legislation being considered by Congress this month; 54% support this proposal while 34% oppose it. Support for both the HEROES Act and the bipartisan stimulus proposal is truly bipartisan, with a majority of both Democrats and Republicans backing both proposals.

Worry/Concern about coronavirus

The graph below tracks the percentage of Americans who say that they are very worried about personally experiencing coronavirus and those who are very concerned in general about the coronavirus pandemic.

Taking into consideration both your risk of contracting it and the seriousness of the illness, how worried are you personally about experiencing coronavirus (COVID-19)?

How concerned are you about a coronavirus epidemic here in the United States?

Approval on handling of coronavirus pandemic

The graph below shows net approval – the percent who strongly or somewhat approve of how Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and the CDC are handling the coronavirus pandemic minus the percent who strongly or somewhat disapprove.

Question wording: “For each person or group, say whether you approve or disapprove of the way they are handling the coronavirus pandemic:”

The next graph shows who Americans say is mostly to blame for the state of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. Respondents could select as many of the options as they wanted in response to this question.

Question wording: “Based on what you’ve seen, read, or heard, who would you say is mostly to blame for the state of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States? (Select all that apply)” Democrats in Congress, Republicans in Congress, President Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, None of these

Which level of government do you trust more to handle the Coronavirus pandemic: The [R’s state] state government or the federal government?

Changes in job status

Here we track responses to a question asking respondents how their work has changed since March 1st of this year. Only respondents who are in the work force are included in the chart below.

Since March 1st of this year, has your work changed? Yes, my hours have been reduced. Yes, I lost my job.

Personal experience with coronavirus

Question wording: Do you, personally, know someone who has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus? (Select all that apply)

Yes, a family member

Yes, a friend

Yes, a co-worker

Social Distancing

Question wording: Which of the following best describes your current behavior?

I am socializing in public places

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family in my or their homes

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family virtually

I am not going to public places nor am I socializing with family or friends

Question wording: Which, if any, of the following measures have you taken during the past two weeks to protect yourself from coronavirus (COVID-19)?

Wore a face mask when in public places

Avoided crowded public places

Avoided physical contact with people

Government response to Coronavirus

In this section, we show how Americans are evaluating what the government has done to address the Coronavirus pandemic and how much they still want the government to do.

Question wording: Based on what you have heard, do you support the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” or CARES Act?

Question wording: Congress is now considering the HEROES Act, which would spend an additional $3 trillion, including $1 trillion for state and local governments and hospitals, $200 billion in hazard pay for essential workers, and would give households a additional stimulus payments ranging from $1,200 to $6,000. Do you support or oppose this legislation?

Question wording: Congress is now considering a new stimulus proposal which would spend $908 billion. The proposal includes enhanced federal unemployment benefits of $300 per week; $160 billion in financial aid to state and local governments; $288 billion to renew the Paycheck Protection Program and help small businesses; and $25 billion in rental assistance. It does not include a second stimulus check. Do you support or oppose this legislation?

Question wording: The expanded unemployment insurance provision that Congress passed as part of coronavirus relief expired on July 31st. Would you support or oppose extending this unemployment insurance expansion until the unemployment rate falls to where it was before the coronavirus pandemic?

Question wording: Which comes closer to your view?

The government needs to spend more to address the coronavirus pandemic, even if it means increasing the national debt and deficit

The government has spent enough to address the coronavirus pandemic and should not do anything else to increase the national debt and deficit

The government has spent too much to address the coronavirus pandemic and should cut spending to reduce the national debt and deficit

Question wording: Would you support or oppose the following provisions in a future legislative package to address the coronavirus pandemic:

General scope of government

Here we track Americans views on the scope of government.

Question 1 wording: Some people think the government should provide fewer services even in areas such as health and education in order to reduce spending. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Other people feel it is important for the government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Provide fewer services. 7=Provide many more services.

Question 2 wording: Some people feel the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on their own. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Govt should let each person get ahead on own. 7=Govt should see to jobs and standard of living.

Question wording: Do you think that the government response right now should mostly be focused on: Relief in the form of assistance to workers and small business OR Investments in new infrastructure to get Americans back to work?

Methodology

The Data for Progress coronavirus tracking poll is fielded each week using respondents recruited via Lucid. Post-stratification weights are implemented to make each week’s sample nationally representative of American adults by gender, age, region, education, race, and the interaction of education and race. The data are also weighted to match vote shares from the previous presidential election (2016 prior to November and 2020 after November). The margin of error for each week’s survey is approximately ± 4 percentage points (this is a conservative estimate and will vary slightly depending on the exact sample size and design effect each week).

Full Toplines and Crosstabs

A document showing toplines by survey wave for each question can be found here.

Crosstabs for each week’s poll can be found at the links below: