A new poll from Baldwin Wallace University finds a widening gap in approval ratings for Gov. Mike DeWine and President Donald Trump鈥檚 coronavirus responses.
The poll surveyed roughly 800 registered Ohio voters on government COVID-19 response and the upcoming election. Previous BW polls have included multiple Midwestern states.
About 85 percent of Ohioans surveyed approve of the measures DeWine has enacted during the pandemic and 79 percent believe the governor began to put preventative measures in place at the appropriate time.
But just 50 percent said they approve of Trump鈥檚 efforts and 52 percent of respondents say the president waited too long to act.
鈥淲ith Trump, it鈥檚 pretty partisan,鈥� said researcher and BW Political Science Professor Robert Alexander. 鈥淗e has a lot of support among Republicans, but very few Democrats trust what President Trump has to say. But when it comes to DeWine, he鈥檚 got support across the board.鈥�
The gap between DeWine and Trump鈥檚 approval ratings has grown since , Alexander said.
鈥淏ack in March, we hypothesized that there was a bit of a rally-around-the-flag effect for Trump, and today we find that his approval rating for his handling of the pandemic has dropped by nearly 10 points,鈥� Alexander said. 鈥淪o over time, he鈥檚 not done as well.鈥�
About half the respondents trust Trump to provide accurate information during the pandemic, compared to roughly 90 percent for DeWine. And 75 percent of those surveyed say DeWine has done a better job addressing the pandemic than the president.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e both Republicans,鈥� Alexander said. 鈥淪o this isn鈥檛 necessarily a party issue. This is probably a leadership issue.鈥�
About 48 percent of Ohioans surveyed said they had an unfavorable opinion of Trump overall. But at 75 percent, DeWine is enjoying a higher approval rating, and Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton, who is not an elected official, has the approval of about 64 percent of those polled.
On the lighter side, the survey also asked what drinks and snacks pair best with DeWine鈥檚 daily press briefings, which have become known on the internet as 鈥渨ine with DeWine.鈥� Wine and coffee are the most popular beverages, according to the poll, where the preferred snacks are chocolates or fruits and vegetables.
Despite , about 89 percent of respondents support DeWine鈥檚 stay-at-home order. A majority of respondents said they are worried the protests will cause a spike in COVID-19 cases.
鈥淭he optics of [the protests] make it look like there鈥檚 a lot of opposition to the stay-at-home orders, but when asked more directly, a majority of Ohioans are supportive,鈥� Alexander said.
However, respondents are split on whether they agree with opening the economy up starting May 1.
鈥淭he majority is still a little bit cautious about what they鈥檙e going to do, and whether or not the government should be opening these things up,鈥� Alexander said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 somewhat surprising in contrast to the protests we鈥檝e been seeing.鈥�
A majority of respondents said it was too early for many public spaces to reopen, including places of worship, salons, retail storefronts, day cares and restaurants. About 94 percent of Ohioans surveyed are concerned about the coronavirus鈥� impact on the economy, and 68 percent are concerned about its impact on their personal finances. And 70 percent say public health is more important than the economy.
The poll also found a dead heat in the race for the White House between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden: roughly 45 percent of Ohioans would probably or definitely vote for Biden if the election were held today, versus 44 percent for Trump 鈥� falling well within the poll鈥檚 3.7 percent margin of error.
"Neither of them have very high favorable ratings," Alexander said. "In fact, both of them have pretty high unfavorable ratings, so that's not that different from what we saw with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump four years ago."
Asked who they would support as Biden鈥檚 running mate, Ohio respondents strongly supported either Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, with 47 percent approval, or California Sen. Kamala Harris, with 41 percent approval of Ohioans.
BW will conduct two more surveys in the Midwest ahead of the 2020 Election in November.
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