Widespread approval for Raimondo in URI survey on COVID-19 response

June 11, 2020 7:02 pm

KINGSTON, R.I. (WLNE)– A University of Rhode Island poll surveying residents’ opinions of the government and media’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic found a high approval rating for Gov. Gina Raimondo.

The poll found 69 percent of respondents approved of Raimondo’s performance during the crisis. Even as Democrats overwhelmingly approved of the governor, with 81 percent approving, the trend extended across the political isle. Republicans approved of the governor at 53 percent, and those that identified as ideologically conservative at 56 percent.

In contrast, 56 percent of all respondents disapproved of President Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis. The rate of approval for the president was higher among Republicans (72 percent) and conservatives (64 percent).

The approval rating for Congress was split nearly evenly three ways between those who approved, disapproved, or were unsure.

The poll was designed by the university’s Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy, with funding provided by the Rhode Island Foundation. It was conducted by British-based internet marketing fim YouGov.

Figures also showed that Raimondo’s daily briefings are popular, with 86 percent saying they’d seen at least one and 51 percent reporting that they’d watched half.

The poll was conducted among 600 hundred residents, matched to a sampling frame along gender, age, race, and education, according to a statement on the poll’s methodology.

Local media was generally approved of, with 84 percent of respondents saying local coverage had done either very or somewhat well in reporting on the crisis.

This was less consistent along racial groups, with non-white residents reporting only 32 percent approval for local media’s ability to provide information they needed in regards to the virus.