Poll: Slim majority of Kentuckians support how Trump has handled coronavirus pandemic
A new poll released Wednesday found that a slim majority of Kentuckians — 52 percent — support how President Donald Trump is handling the coronavirus pandemic and had both Trump and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell winning November’s election.
The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, had Trump ahead of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden by 16 percentage points — 55 percent to 39 percent. Trump won Kentucky by 30 percentage points in 2016, indicating the president’s popularity may have slipped over the past four years.
One of the most telling examples may be in the Sixth Congressional District, which extends from Central Kentucky to the foothills of Appalachia. Trump won the district by 15 percentage points in 2016, but the poll found Biden ahead in the district 52 percent to 40 percent, which would be a 27 point swing between the two elections.
The automated poll surveyed 1,104 Kentucky voters between May 14 and May 15 and was conducted by landline and text message. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Trump’s overall approval in Kentucky — 53 percent approve and 41 percent disapprove — lined up almost exactly with how Kentuckians feel about how well Trump is handling the COVID-19 pandemic. The poll found that 84 percent of people who voted for Trump in 2016 approved of how the president is handling the pandemic.
Those who voted for Trump were also less likely to be concerned about the coronavirus than those who voted for Hillary Clinton — 35 percent of the people who voted for Trump were “very concerned” about the virus while 25 percent were “not that concerned.” For those who voted for Clinton, 84 percent were “very concerned” and 1 percent were “not that concerned.”
Concern about the virus also differed according to gender. Fifty-nine percent of women said they were “very concerned” about the virus, but only 46 percent of men said the same.
People in the Bowling Green media market appeared the least concerned about the coronavirus. In that media market, which has some of the highest coronavirus cases per capita in the state, 36 percent were “very concerned” and 39 percent were “somewhat concerned.”
Only Paducah had a higher percentage of people who were “not that concerned” at 32 percent compared to Bowling Green’s 25 percent. In Paducah, 39 percent were “very concerned” about the virus.
While Trump continues to remain popular, more people disapproved of McConnell’s job performance than approved of it (41 percent approve, 48 percent disapprove). That didn’t appear to have a significant effect on his reelection chances, however, as 47 percent of Kentuckians would support him over a generic Democratic candidate.
The poll did not ask about any of the Democratic candidates vying to run against McConnell in November.
Both Trump and McConnell’s approval rating was highest among people who were older than 65, with McConnell at 50 percent approval from that demographic and Trump at 58 percent approval. People who are older than 65 are among the most at risk of dying from the coronavirus in Kentucky, and 63 percent said they were “very concerned” while only 10 percent said they were “not that concerned.”
People who were between the ages of 18 and 29 were the next most concerned about the virus, with 53 percent saying they were “very concerned” and 17 percent saying they were “not that concerned.” There have been no coronavirus-related deaths among Kentuckians in that age group.
Just 42 percent of 18-29 year-old’s supported how Trump is handling the coronavirus while 56 percent of people who are older than 65 approved.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 2:57 PM.
