Poll: Joe Biden Leads in Key Swing States as Coronavirus Concerns Rise

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden answers questions after speaking about the
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

A CNBC/Change Research poll released Wednesday found Joe Biden leading President Trump across six key swing states, as the voters indicate dissatisfaction with the president’s handling of the Chinese coronavirus.

The survey, taken June 26-28 among 3,729 likely voters in six states — Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — showed Biden leading Trump in each state. Biden holds his greatest lead in Wisconsin, where he is up by eight percentage points. Trump trails the former vice president by seven percent in Arizona and North Carolina, six percent in Pennsylvania, and five percent in Florida and Michigan:

The margin of error is +/- 1.6 percent.

The survey suggests that the administration’s response to the novel coronavirus could be affecting the president’s standings, as the largest percentage of respondents in the key swing states, 35 percent, blame Trump for the “recent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.” However, “people not wearing masks” came closely behind at 34 percent, followed by states reopening economics “too soon” (32 percent), people not socially distancing (29 percent), China (21 percent), scientists and medical researchers (11 percent), and businesses failing to “take enough precautions (six percent).

A majority of respondents, 55 percent, agree that the president is “pushing states to reopen their economies too quickly in order to boost his own re-election chances.” Forty-five percent of respondents disagreed with that statement.

Likely voters were also asked to respond to the statement, “Donald Trump is setting a good example and providing accurate information about proper COVID-19 precautions.”

Only 43 percent agreed with that statement, while the majority, 57 percent, disagreed.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans, 71 percent, indicted concern over the coronavirus — a seven-point rise from two weeks ago.

Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in all six battleground states in 2016. Notably, several summer polls in those states leaned in Clinton’s favor, with the RealClearPolitics average indicating wins for Clinton in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, particularly.

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