19 May Covid-19 Is Their #1 Voting Issue: Iowa Swing Voters
Swing voters weighed-in on Trump, Covid-19, Biden, the economy, and more.
Engagious/Focus Pointe Global Swing Voter Project turned to eastern Iowa for May’s research, meeting with swing voters in online focus groups.
➡︎ For the complete report, go here.
What’s on their minds? Coronavirus, of course. They say it will be their number one voting issue in November. It’s on our minds, too; and we wanted to know how the pandemic is influencing their thoughts about the presidential race:
• Six of the eight are very likely to vote for Trump again.
• They don’t blame President Trump for the situation we’re in, and for the most part they think he’s doing a decent job in an unprecedented situation. At the same time they are less confident in his leadership, saying they think he’s delegating too much power to the governors.
• Unemployment is high, but they’re not going to hold it against the president. Unless the pandemic intensity recedes, and unemployment doesn’t.
• Trump brought us a great economy once, they said; he can do it again.
• Are they worse off than before COVID-19? Yes. Are they better off than four years ago? Yes. For now, at least, respondents seem to be mentally bracketing the COVID-19 economy.
• That said, they’re more worried about their financial health than their physical health.
• The two respondents who said they are likely to vote for Vice President Biden want him to bring a new outlook to COVID-19. Though the group as a whole is not at all familiar with what Biden plans to do about COVID-19,
• Not one of the respondents feels that Biden’s choice of running mate would affect their vote.
• The six likely to vote for Trump cited Biden negatives: behavior with women, outbursts on the campaign trail, dishonesty, his length of time in government, doubts about his mental acuity.
• Reopening restaurants, bars and theaters? Respondents support a local approach, with slight support for protestors who demand that their governors allow them to reopen their businesses (but please, wear a mask).
• They’re somewhat uncomfortable with Chinese ownership of Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork processor with packing plants in Iowa. (Iowa is America’s top pork producer).
*All Respondents voted for Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2016.
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