Biden leads Trump 49% to 41% in MU poll
Former Vice President Joe Biden has widened his advantage over President Donald Trump in Wisconsin, according to Wednesday’s Marquette University Law School Poll.
Biden had 49% support to Trump’s 41% support, among registered voters, in what may be the key battleground state in the fall race.
Biden held a 3-point margin in polls conducted in March and May. Biden and the president were tied in February.
“This has been a good gain for Biden at this point,” poll director Charles Franklin said. “And it’s a relatively widespread gain. He’s picking up across different regions and different groups.”
The new numbers come as Trump travels to Wisconsin on Thursday to tour a Marinette shipyard and to tape a Fox News town hall set to broadcast at 8 p.m. That visit comes after Vice
President Mike Pence campaigned for Trump in the crucial Republican stronghold of Waukesha County.
In Wednesday’s poll results, Trump had 45% job approval to 51% disapproval.
“That’s down 2 points from a month ago,” Franklin said.
“While his overall job approval has been so stable for a long time, we find a real range on specific issues,” Franklin said. “How Trump is handling the protests, only 30% approve, 58% disapprove.”
Forty-four percent approved of the president’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, unchanged from May. On the economy, 50% approved of Trump’s performance, with 46% disapproving.
“The Democratic Party is coalescing around Biden,” Franklin said. “Biden is now getting over 90% of the Democratic vote. That’s not up a lot, but it’s up from the high 80s.”
Gov. Tony Evers’ job approval numbers declined. This month, he was at 54% approval and 38% disapproval, compared with May, when 59% approved of his handling of the job and 33% disapproved.
The survey dug into public views on policing issues and policies.
Three big numbers to consider: 72% view police favorably, 61% approve of the mass protests and 59% had a favorable view of the Black Lives Matter movement.
But there were striking differences in the numbers.
On police: white respondents had a 76% favorable view, Black respondents registered a 39% favorable view, while Hispanics registered 50%.
On protests, Black respondents registered 74% approval and Hispanic respondents registered 81% approval, while white respondents registered 59% approval.
On Black Lives Matter: Black respondents had an 81% favorable view of the movement, Hispanics had a 73% favorable view, while white respondents had a 57% favorable view.
Eighty-six percent said the police make them feel mostly safe, while 11% said police make them feel anxious. But just 43% of Black respondents said they feel mostly safe, compared with 72% of Hispanic respondents and 90% of white respondents.
On the use of force, 42% said police, in general, are too willing to use deadly force, while 51% said they are not. Sixtyeight
percent of Black respondents, 71% of Hispanic respondents and 38% of white respondents said police are too willing to use deadly force.
Overall, 44% said recent killings of Black Americans by the police are seen as isolated incidents while 48% said the killings are part of a larger pattern.
Among Black respondents, 8% said these killings are isolated, while 86% said they represent a broader pattern. Forty-seven percent of white respondents said these are isolated incidents, and 44% said they are part of a broader pattern. Among Hispanic respondents, 26% said these are isolated incidents and 72% said it was a broader pattern.
Just 23% of people supported “calls to defund the police,” with 70% opposed.
Eighty-one percent backed “calls to restructure the role of the police and require greater accountability for police misconduct,” while 16% were in opposition.
Forty-one percent said prejudice against Black people is seen as a very serious problem, 37% said somewhat serious and 19% said it was not serious or not a problem.
Eighty-six percent of black respondents, 66% of Hispanic respondents and 37% of white respondents see prejudice as a serious problem.
On the coronavirus, worries have declined even as people begin to grasp the reality that it will not soon recede.
Now, 19% said they are very worried about COVID-19 and 36% are somewhat worried. Back in March, the poll showed 30% were very worried and 40% were somewhat worried.
“This month, fully 24% are not at all worried,” Franklin said.
People are also girding for a longer battle, with 40% saying it will take about a year to control the pandemic and 13% saying it will take more than a year.
Back in March, 71% said the pandemic would be under control either by the end of May or the end of August.
Eighty-three percent said they are comfortable with visiting a friend or family member’s home, 65% said they would be comfortable shopping at a mall or large retail store, while 49% are comfortable with eating at a restaurant.
Just 33% said they would be comfortable attending a sporting event, concert or play.
On the key issue of schools, 54% said they are comfortable with letting students return to school in the fall, while 38% were uncomfortable.
The survey of 805 registered voters was conducted June 13-18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3%.