President Donald Trump’s reelection strategy continues to be a rally-the-base approach, and millions of diehard MAGA voters have not been swayed by the coronavirus pandemic. But journalist Philip Bump, in the Washington Post, notes that support for Trump is not universal among Republican voters — and that according to a new Post/ABC News poll, one in six registered Republicans who are worried about being infected with coronavirus plan to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden.
“About half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they’re worried that they or their families might contract the coronavirus — and a fifth of that group say they plan to vote for Biden,” Bump explains. “Looking only at registered Republican voters, the figure is 1 in 6.”
Not surprisingly, the poll found that Trump enjoys his strongest support among Republicans. But the Republicans who are the most worried about coronavirus, according to Bump, are the most likely to cross party lines and vote for Biden.
“Partisanship can be difficult to extricate from views of Trump,” Bump reports, “but the Post/ABC poll shows that Republicans who are more worried about the virus and who are more likely to say it isn’t under control are also more likely to say that they disapprove of Trump’s handling of the pandemic.”
Bump adds, “Among all adults, 65% of those who say they’re not worried about someone close to them contracting the virus approve of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, compared with 28% of those who are worried about contracting it — a 37-point difference. Among those who say the virus isn’t under control, 31% approve of Trump’s handling compared to 92% of those who say it is under control.”
Noting the differences among Republican voters, Bump reports, “Trump wins Republicans overall by 79 points, 88% to 9%. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who are worried about contracting the virus, though, he leads by 55 points, with a fifth of that group’s support going to Biden. Among Republicans and leaners who don’t think the pandemic is under control, 16% plan to vote for Biden. Overall, that same percentage of Republicans — 16% — who are registered to vote and are worried about someone close to them contracting the virus say they plan to support Biden.”