Americans Trust Democratic Governors Far More Than They Trust Trump To Handle The Pandemic-- And That Will Play Out In November

Louisiana is a deep red state, although they elected a fairly conservative centrist Democrat, John Bel Edwards, governor-- twice. In 2016 the state went for Trump over Hillary 1,178,004 (58.1%) to 779,535 (38.4%). She took 10 of the state's 64 parishes-- basically the black vote and nothing more. The state has 2 ultra-conservative Republican U.S. senators and of the 6 congressional seats, 5 are incontestably Republican and one (grotesquely gerrymandered)-- with a 61.4% black majority-- incontestably Democratic. The legislature is also a Republican bastion. The state Senate has 27 Republicans and 12 Democrats and the House has 68 Republicans, 35 Democrats and 2 independents.

Jon Bel Edwards, the former House minority leader was elected governor in 2015, beating scandal-scarred David Vitter 646,860 (56.1%) to 505,929 (43.9%). Not one of the brilliant pundits mass media depends on for their campaign coverage got that right:

Edwards, the only statewide elected official in Louisiana and the only Democratic governor in the Deep South, had a much tougher race in 2019 and no Democrat had been reelected in Louisiana in living memory. Trump and Pence campaigned fiercely for their candidate, Eddie Rispone (a crooked businessman who self-financed his campaign to the tune of $12 million). On election day the Republicans won a veto-proof supermajority in the state Senate and fell two seats short of the threshold in the House. Edwards beat back the Trumpist challenge 774,469 (51.3%) to 734,128 (48.7%).

The reason I'm rehashing all this today is to give you a little context for a brand new Louisiana survey from PPP-- one I contend shows the lay of the land in terms of how voters nationally may be looking at the response-- or non-response-- of the Trump Regime to the coronavirus. Yesterday Atlantic writer Peter Nicholas-- in a piece about those daily wretched coronavirus briefings-- quoted Trump ass-licker Lindsey Graham (R-SC) explaining that "Trump’s opponent really is the coronavirus. If he’s seen to have handled this well and done a good job in the eyes of the public, he’d be almost impossible to beat. If he’s viewed as having fallen short, he’d be in trouble." A hefty majority of Louisiana voters are still lockstep Republicans and there is no question that they will give the state's 8 electoral votes to Trump in November-- even though it is worth mentioning that according to the latest (pre-pandemic) Morning Consult tracking poll, Trump's job approval has decreased by 10 points since he was inaugurated and now stands at 59% approving and 38% disapproving.

But what PPP found is fairly stunning. Edwards is leading Trump among registered voters on their respective handling of the pandemic by an astounding 43 points. We're talking about Louisiana... where national Democrats don't even campaign.

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.

Last week, PPP released similar polls of voters in 3 swing states-- Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina-- plus California. All 4 polls show voters prefer their governor's response to the pandemic than Trump's.

In our new Michigan poll, conducted for our friends at Progress Michigan and their Lake Effect state survey, ‘That Woman from Michigan,’ as the President has referred to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, has a net approval 37 points better than his on handling the virus. 62% approve of the job she’s doing to just 28% who disapprove. Meanwhile he’s upside down, with 46% approving of the job he’s doing to 49% who disapprove.

The Michigan poll also shows Biden narrowly beating Trump 48-45% and Democrat Gary Peters winning reelection over Republican John James 45-38%.

In Pennsylvania only 46% of voters approve of how Trump has handled the virus to 49% who disapprove. By contrast Governor Tom Wolf gets a 62% approval rating for his handling of the virus, to only 20% who disapprove.

It’s a similar story in North Carolina. Voters are closely divided on Trump’s handling of the virus, with 49% approving and 45% disapproving. Meanwhile they give overwhelmingly positive reviews to Governor Roy Cooper, with 63% approving and just 19% disapproving of his handling of the virus.

...The North Carolina poll also found bad news for Richard Burr and Thom Tillis. 50% of voters in the state think Burr should resign to only 24% who think he should remain in office in wake of revelations about his stock sales. Burr’s had a net 28 point drop in his approval rating since last summer from -4 then at 32/36 to -32 now at 22/54. Thom Tillis isn’t a whole lot more popular. Only 24% approve of the job he’s doing to 48% who disapprove as he heads into a tough reelection challenge from Cal Cunningham.

California is as blue as Louisiana is red and, predictably, voters polled there are even less impressed with Trump in 2020 than they were in 2016. In 2016, Hillary beat Trump in California by a substantial 61.6% to 32.8%. If the election were held today, a far weaker candidate than Hillary, Status Quo Joe, would beat Trump 67 to 29%. California voters think Governor Gavin Newsom is doing a much better job on handling the pandemic than Trump is. 56% strongly approve and 27% somewhat approve. 5% strongly disapprove and 8% somewhat disapprove. Meanwhile 51% of voters surveyed say they distrust the federal government's ability to handle disasters like the coronavirus emergency. Trump's overall job approval rating in California was a shockingly low 29% last week.

Failure by Nancy Ohanian