President Trump and long-term care facilities at the bottom of the list
Contact: Paul Bentz, 602-528-3684
PHOENIX (May 29, 2020) – Over the past three months, the strength and overall excellence of Arizona’s key institutions has been on display in dealing with COVID-19 and its impact on the state’s residents. HighGround’s latest statewide survey shows that voters have taken notice and give high marks to Arizona’s hospitals, utilities, and local schools for their response to this national crisis.
“When it comes to handling the Coronavirus, it’s clear that Arizona voters believe that some individuals and organizations did better than others,” said Paul Bentz, Sr. Vice President of Research and Strategy at HighGround, Inc., “There’s a reason that our infrastructure industries are so well regarded – many are among the best in the nation. When the spotlight was on them, voters saw that some were up for the challenge while others were not.”
Q. On a scale of Excellent, Very Good, Ok, Poor, or Failing, how would you rate the job the following elected officials and organizations are doing in handling the Coronavirus: [Randomize]
| Handling the Coronavirus |
Mean Score |
% Failing ——–> % Excellent |
% DK, Ref |
||||
|
Failing |
Poor |
Okay |
Very Good |
Excellent |
|||
| Arizona hospitals and health care systems |
3.85 |
2.3% |
5.0% |
24.0% |
35.5% |
26.8% |
6.5% |
| Arizona’s power and water utilities |
3.62 |
2.8% |
5.0% |
29.8% |
31.3% |
16.0% |
15.3% |
| Local schools |
3.56 |
3.3% |
9.3% |
26.3% |
28.0% |
17.3% |
16.0% |
| Arizona Department of Health Services |
3.27 |
4.5% |
12.8% |
33.8% |
27.8% |
8.8% |
12.5% |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
3.24 |
7.5% |
15.3% |
32.3% |
28.3% |
12.5% |
4.3% |
| Local mayors |
3.11 |
6.8% |
11.8% |
39.0% |
21.3% |
6.8% |
14.5% |
| Governor Doug Ducey |
3.01 |
12.3% |
18.0% |
37.0% |
18.3% |
12.8% |
1.8% |
| President Donald Trump |
2.76 |
38.5% |
10.5% |
10.5% |
13.5% |
25.3% |
1.8% |
| Arizona’s long-term care facilities |
2.74 |
12.5% |
16.8% |
25.0% |
14.8% |
4.0% |
27.0% |
Arizona hospitals and health care systems have been on the front lines of the pandemic, not only treating patients, but doing much more. Organizations like Valleywise Health have ramped up testing efforts and been a statewide leader in sharing helpful information and communicating the best ways to stay healthy. Efforts like these have helped hospitals and health care systems top the list with support among all partisan segments including 68% of Republicans, 61% of Democrats, and 56% Independent and unaffiliated voters rating their performance as “Excellent” or “Very Good.”
Arizona’s award-winning power and water utilities have also stepped up helping those who are experiencing economic challenges and delaying shut offs for nonpayment. Utilities like SRP are also waiving late fees and donating $100,000 to the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund, supporting frontline workers and efforts to mitigate the medical and economic impact of COVID-19 in Arizona. The result is high support among Arizona voters including 55% of Republicans giving a rating of “Excellent” or “Very Good.”
Following the cancellation of in-classroom instruction, local schools have shifted their efforts to digital learning, online meetings, providing food for those in need, and other programs. Schools have embraced innovation and shown their value during these challenging times, earning praise and support from voters. School performance was rated as “Excellent” or “Very Good” by 54.4% of Democrats, 53.4% among those with kids at home, and 51.0% among all Maricopa County voters.
“As I taught the final 10 weeks of kindergarten this year while my wife conducted 6th grade math class online, I can tell you first hand the excellent job our schools did meeting the educational and emotional needs of their students,” said Bentz, “Voters definitely saw that local schools rose to the occasion.”
Meanwhile, the voters expressed concerns with President Trump’s handling of the pandemic, and the challenges facing Arizona’s long-term care facilities have not gone unnoticed. Both scored well below the mean – suggesting that voters leaned towards dissatisfaction with their performance. In fact, 49% of voters gave the President’s performance a “Poor” or “Failing” grade and 29.3% said the same about care facilities.
Bentz concluded, “When it comes to the President, certainly there are partisan motivations, but his team should be concerned that 51% of those key independent and unaffiliated swing voters gave him low marks.”
About the Survey
The N=400 survey was conducted among likely voters 5/18 through 5/22. The poll surveyed likely Arizona 2020 General Election voters who have a history of electoral participation and was balanced to model the likely turnout of voters across party, age, region, and gender. The live interview survey of voters was conducted by HighGround Public Affairs to both landline and cell phone users. The partisan advantage was set at +4% GOP based on previous election trends and expected Presidential Election turnout. The margin of error is ±4.9%.
HighGround has recently conducted a survey on several issues facing Arizona in light of the everchanging political landscape leading into the 2020 elections. Over the next week, the team will be sharing the results of those surveys covering several issues including the Presidential match up, United States Senate match up, COVID-19 response, the reopening of the state, legalization of marijuana, and other issues.
Q. In general, would you say that the State of Arizona is heading in the right direction, or the wrong direction? [Definitely/Probably]
| 52.5% Total Right Direction 29.5% Total Wrong Direction 18.0% Don’t know, Refused
|
27.5% Education
24.5% Immigration and Border Issues
22.5% Jobs and the Economy
12.0% Healthcare
3.3% Other
2.8% State Budget
2.0% Taxes
1.3% Transportation
4.3% Don’t Know, Refused
The HighGround team has built a reputation of reliable and accurate polling over the past ten years – our research has been featured on Nate Silver’s 538, Real Clear Politics, Huffington Post, and many other publications. Visit our website to learn more about HighGround’s polling experience.