LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. — According to a new Siena College national poll, former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Trump by 14 points with registered voters.
Respondents to the poll, which was done in conjunction with the New York Times, show that Biden leads Trump 50-36% throughout the country. Both have the overwhelming support of their own parties, but independents favor Biden by 18 points.
"Both Trump and Biden hold the support of 90 percent of voters of their own party, but independents favor Biden by 18 points. Men are nearly evenly split but women prefer Biden by 22 points, and both voters over 45 years of age and white voters are evenly split while younger voters and both Black and Latino voters are strongly with Biden,” said Siena College Research Institute Director Don Levy. “Trump’s favorability nationally is a negative 40-56 percent while Biden’s is a positive 52-42 percent."
The majority of those polled said they approve of the president's handling of the economy, but overall they disapprove, 56-41%, of the way he's handled his job as president.
The poll also showed that 59% of respondents think that George Floyd's death is a part of a bigger pattern of excessive police violence toward African-Americans. However, 39% of all Americans and 60% of Republicans said they believe discrimination against White people has become as big of a problem as discrimination against Black people or other minorities.
The poll also covered the coronavirus pandemic in the US. Fifty-seven percent of people who responded said they believe the worst of the pandemic is still on the horizon, but 34% of people think the worst is over. More than half of respondents, 55%, said the country's top priority should be containing the spread of coronavirus, despite how it could impact the economy.
“Attitudes towards what George Floyd’s death says about policing, support or opposition to the subsequent demonstrations, and how the federal government should prioritize their response to the coronavirus have all become highly partisan issues. In each case, Democrats and Republicans have polar opposite opinions. Democrats strongly say Floyd’s death is part of a pattern, they support the demonstrations, and want the federal government to prioritize containing the virus even if it hurts the economy. Republicans say Floyd’s death was an isolated incident, they oppose the demonstrations, and want the feds to prioritize restarting the economy. At this point, independents are in the middle, but a majority of them side with the Democrats’ view,” Levy said.
The research institute polled 1,337 registered voters in the US. To view all the results from the poll, click here.
