How Are Wolf, Trump Handling Coronavirus? New Poll Released

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is running well ahead of President Donald Trump in the public's approval of the handling of the coronavirus crisis, new findings from Public Policy Polling suggest.

The poll of 970 Pennsylvania voters was taken on March 30 and 31. The results, released Wednesday, show that that 62 percent approve of the job Wolf is doing in handling the virus. Twenty percent disapprove. That's a net approval of +42.

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Of the same voters polled, 46 percent approve of the job Donald Trump is doing handling the virus and 49 percent disapprove. That's a net approval of -3 .

Of the Democrats polled, 73 percent approve of Wolf's handling, and 12 percent do not. Republicans give Wolf a 49 percent approval rating in the crisis, and Independents a 61 percent approval.

Pennsylvania’s response to the virus has been "about right," 68 percent of respondents said. Seventeen percent think Wolf has under reacted and 11 percent think he has overreacted.

Wolf has instituted a series of closures and lock downs in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. The first closures, announced in mid-March, included schools and non-essential businesses. Shortly after, Wolf announced Stay at Home orders in suburban Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Those orders have been expanded to 33 counties and now go through April 30.

When it comes to the direct question of whether Wolf or Trump has done a better job handling the virus, Wolf wins out 51-37, the poll indicates.

Wolf's overall approval rating is 54 percent. Trump’s overall approval rating is 45 percent.

The poll found that 69 percent of Pennsylvanians are "very concerned" about the virus and 25 percent are "somewhat concerned." Just 6 percent who were polled say they’re not that concerned.

The margin of error in the poll is +/-3.2 percent. You can see the full results here.

Pennsylvania's coronavirus death toll was at 63 as of the latest numbers available Tuesday. The state's case count is approaching 5,000.

As of Wednesday morning, Johns Hopkins University had recorded more than 4,090 deaths caused by the virus.

>>>Full coverage of coronavirus in Pennsylvania