A plurality of likely voters in battleground Arizona are cautiously optimistic about the outlook of the novel coronavirus in their state, believing that the health crisis will improve over the next month — news that coincides with President Trump’s poll numbers rebounding in key swing states — a survey from OH Predictive Insights released Thursday revealed.
While nearly three-quarters of those surveyed indicated a level of concern over the recent spread of the virus in Arizona, optimism is on the upswing.
Respondents were asked, “Overall, do you believe the Coronavirus (COVID-19) issue in the State of Arizona will get better or get worse in the next 30 days?”
Forty-six percent of likely voters expect the situation to get “much” or “somewhat” better over the next month, compared to 32 percent who believe it will get “much” or “somewhat” worse. Seventeen percent predicted the situation will remain “about the same.”
OHPI chief pollster Mike Noble observed that outlook regarding the virus is significantly partisan.
“For a virus which does not care about political party, ethnicity, religious affiliation or economic status, there remains an unusual partisan split in opinions on the virus,” Noble said. “Republicans are consistently less concerned than Democrats and Independents on the issue.”
Per the survey’s release:
The 6-point drop in high concern is almost entirely due to Republicans as a group becoming less worried about the outbreak. From July to August, Independents and Democrats each stayed at roughly the same level of concern – each decreased by 1%. Concern among Republicans, on the other hand, fell 12 points. In fact, this survey found that 46% of Republicans are slightly or not at all concerned about the pandemic — the highest share since March before it had fully hit the state.
OH Predictive Insights surveyed 603 likely general election voters from August 3-4. The margin of error is +/- 4 percent.
The shift in attitude comes as President Trump begins to rebound in swing state polls, as America continues recovering from the economic impact caused by the Wuhan virus.
Trump has been gradually closing the gap in recent weeks, as recent polls have demonstrated. A recent Change Research/CNBC survey showed Biden’s lead narrowing in key swing states, including Arizona.
Breitbart News reported:
Trump’s improved status among likely voters in these states is particularly of note when the results of the Change Research/CNBC poll released on Wednesday are compared with the results of the same poll conducted between July 10 and July 12 and released two weeks earlier on July 15. That poll found that Biden led Trump by ten points nationally and by six points in the six battleground states.
In Arizona, Biden leads Trump by two points: 47 percent to 45 percent. Trump trailed by six points in the July 15 Change Research/CNBC poll, so he has picked up a net four points in Arizona in two weeks.
The same survey showed Biden leading Trump by just two points in Pennsylvania, three points in Florida and North Carolina, four points in Michigan, and five points in Wisconsin.
Similarly, a Trafalgar Group poll released this week showed Trump edging out Biden in Arizona, 46.2 percent to 44.8 percent.
The current RealClearPolitics average has the former vice president up by two percentage points. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the Copper State by 3.5 percent in 2016.
Notably, a Hill-HarrisX poll released last week gave Biden just a three-point lead in the national popular vote, “while the Rasmussen Reports poll released on the same day gave Biden a 48 percent to 45 percent lead,” as Breitbart News detailed.
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