In the latest CBS News/YouGov Poll, registered voters say things in the United States are going badly – and that presidential candidate Joe Biden would do a better job than President Trump, in handling COVID-19.
In Pennsylvania – Biden’s home state, the former VP leads with half (49%) of likely voters choosing him over President Trump (43%). Biden also leads as the presidential choice for 48 percent of likely voters, compared to 42 percent who say they would vote for President Trump in November.
In both states, President Trump is seen negatively for his handling of COVID-19. Nearly half (47%) of those in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin say Joe Biden would handle the coronavirus outbreak better than Trump. In Pennsylvania, 37 percent say Donald Trump would do a better job at handling COVID-19 than Joe Biden, compared to three in 10 (32%) voters in Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin, Biden is seen as the candidate who better understands voters needs and concerns (44% vs. 37%).
As with other states, views on COVID-19 are more relate to votes than views on the economy. In Pennsylvania, Biden is leading with three in four (73%) voters who are very concerned about COVID-19. President Trump leads with 9 in 10 voters (92%) who are not at all concerned about COVID-19.
Voters in Pennsylvania are split on which candidate would do a better job at handling the economy (Biden, 45% vs. Trump, 46%). In Wisconsin, Trump leads with nearly half (47%) of voters saying he would do a better job handling the economy, compared to 43 percent who say Biden would do a better job.
In Pennsylvania, 38 percent of voters say Biden’s VP pick is important, compared to six in 10 (62%) who say it is not important. Voters in Wisconsin seem to think Biden’s VP pick is more important than those in Pennsylvania, with 44 percent of voters saying it is important, and 56 percent saying it is not important.
Additionally, nine in 10 (89%) Biden voters in Wisconsin say he should not hold more public events in Wisconsin, as it is too risky. The data follows Joe Bidens announcement that he will not be traveling to Milwaukee to receive the Democratic nomination.
In contrast, Trump supporters feel differently about their candidate campaigning in public. In Wisconsin, 68 percent of Trump voters say he should hold more events in their state.
For those who say the presidency is going better than expected, nine in 10 (90%) registered voters in Pennsylvania say Trump’s handling of the economy makes his presidency better than expected, compared to three in five (61%) who say the way he communicates makes him better than expected.
For those who say it is going worse than expected, their top factors include the way he communicates (90%), his handling of COVID-19 (89%), and his handling of race relations (88%).
As President Trump continues to raise concerns about voting by mail, half of voters in Pennsylvania (49%) and Wisconsin (52%) say that voting by mail should be made easier. Democrats in both Pennsylvania (52%) and Wisconsin (62%) say they prefer to vote by mail in 2020, compared to one in 10 Republicans in Pennsylvania and a quarter (25%) of Republicans in Wisconsin.
Biden is doing better with white men and women in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, than Democrats did in 2016. In Pennsylvania, 56 percent of white voters with college degrees chose the former VP over President Trump (36%). In Wisconsin, half (51%) of white voters with no college degree choose Trump over Biden (41%).
See the Pennsylvania and Wisconsin toplines from this week's CBS News/YouGov Poll
Methodology: These surveys were conducted on behalf of CBS News by YouGov between August 4-7 2020. They are based on representative samples of 1,009 registered voters in Wisconsin and 1,225 in Pennsylvania. Margins of error for registered voters: Wisconsin +/- 3.7 points, Pennsylvania +/- 3.7 points.
Image: Getty
