PPP’s newest survey in Louisiana finds John Bel Edwards running 43 points ahead of Donald Trump on his handling of the coronavirus in the state.
68% approve of the job Edwards is doing handling the virus to 16% who disapprove for a net rating of +52. Democrats (81/8), independents (60/19), and Republicans (56/25) alike give Edwards good marks. His overall approval rating is similarly high with 66% approving and just 18% disapproving of his work as Governor.
Opinions on Trump are much more closely split and polarized. 50% approve of the job he’s doing handling the virus to 41% who disapprove for a net rating of +9. While he gets strong support from Republicans for the job he’s done (87/9), independents are much more closely divided (47/43), and he gets only 22% support from Democrats.
Louisiana voters are taking the virus seriously. 78% say they’re very concerned about it to 17% who are ‘somewhat concerned’ and just 5% who say they’re ‘not that concerned.’ Almost no one thinks the government is over reacting in its efforts to slow down the virus. At the state level 59% of voters say the actions that have been taken are ‘about right’ with 28% saying there’s been an under reaction and just 10% saying there’s been an over reaction. At the federal level it’s more divided with 47% saying the actions taken have been ‘about right,’ 41% saying there’s been an under reaction, and just 9% saying there’s been an over reaction.
When asked who’s done a better job handling the virus overall Edward beats out Trump by a 46-41 margin, pretty impressive given that Trump won the state by 20 points.
55% of voters in the state grant that it will be at least 3 months before things get back to normal. Only 10% approve of Pastor Tony Spell continuing to hold church gatherings in Central, Louisiana to 82% who disapprove of his doing that. There’s strong bipartisan opposition to Spell’s actions with only 14% of Republicans and 7% each of Democrats and independents supporting his continued large gatherings.
PPP interviewed 1,023 Louisiana voters on April 3rd and 4th. The margin of error is +/-3.1% and the full results are here.
