New Polling Confirms That Virginia Republicans Are Wildly Out of Step with Public Opinion on Reopening Schools, Wearing Masks, etc.

Last week, I posted about how Virginia Republicans are wildly out of step with public opinion when it comes to reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. This morning, we have new polling by Navigator Research indicating that…yep, Virginia Republicans are STILL wildly out of step with public opinion on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening schools, wearing masks, etc. Here are a few highlights:

• First, as you can see below, 75% of Americans – including 91% of Democrats, 73% of Independents, and even 55% of Republicans – think that people who refuse to wear masks in public places “are putting others at risk and deserve to be called out.” This is in stark contrast to what we saw at the VA07 GOP convention this past weekend, where almost nobody – including VA GOP U.S. Senate nominee, VA07 GOP nominee Nick Freitas, etc. – was wearing a mask. It’s also in stark contrast to the behavior of Republican State Senators Amanda Chase, Bryce Reeves and many others, who we see constantly in photos and videos, flagrantly violating social distancing and mask-wearing requirements/recommendations.

• When it comes to reopening schools this fall, the majority (53%-38%) of Americans oppose it, including 70% of Democrats and 57% of Independents…while Republicans *support* reopening schools, by a 61%-33% margin. So Virginia Republicans are focused on appeasing their “base” voters, but are most definitely not in tune with the (large) majority of Independents and Democratic voters, and even 33% of their own voters.
• Also note that disapproval of Trump’s push to reopen schools is growing…now at 31% approve-61% disapprove. Yet again, both Democrats and Independents strongly disapprove of Trump on this, while Republicans approve, by a 65%-24% margin.

• Finally, as an added “bonus,” check out the following two graphs, showing Trump’s approval rating overall at -23 points (38%-61%), while his approval on handling the COVID-19 pandemic is -24 points (37%-61%). Oh, and by a 75%-19% margin, Americans think the country’s “off on the wrong track.” Those are disastrous numbers for an incumbent president facing an election in a few months, by the way…so expect some nasty/dangerous stuff from Trump, including what we’re seeing in Portland, Oregon, as well as continued ranting and raving about the supposed illegitimacy of our elections, blah blah blah. We’re going to really have to be vigilant about all this, and take whatever measures we can to counter it.