Whitmer gains for COVID handling; Trump little change

<p>As the world continues to battle the coronavirus, Michigan residents are giving Gov. Gretchen Whitmer high job performance marks while describing their personal finances as more depressed, new results from the State of the State Survey show.</p><p><br></p><p>President Donald Trump drew lower marks in the results of two sets of cell phone made in February and May 2020. Each survey was answered by 1,000 people, and carried a margin of error of 3.1%.</p><p><br></p><p>In February, 36.6% of Michigan’s residents gave Whitmer “excellent” or “good.” By May, she won 51.9% favorable ratings, said MSU Economist Charles Ballard, who directs SOSS for the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.</p><p><br></p><p>President Donald Trump’s approval changed very little from the February survey to the one in May. In February, 39.2% of Michigan’s residents gave him an “excellent” or “good.” He won similar responses from 39.5% of Michigan’s residents in May. “About half of survey respondents gave Trump a ‘poor’ rating,” Ballard said</p><p><br></p><p>Michigan residents were also asked how Whitmer and Trump had handled the COVID-19 infection. Answers to those questions tracked the job performance ratings, Ballard said. “It appears a lot of Michigan residents were impressed by the way in which Gov. Whitmer has handled the COVID crisis,” he added.</p><p><br></p><p>The survey results were shared during the recording of IPPSR’s State of the State Podcast featuring political scientist Matt Grossmann, IPPSR Director, and Arnold Weinfeld, associate IPPSR director. </p><p><br></p><p>The August podcast edition focused on COVID-19’s ripple effects on primary elections around the country, Joe Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential candidate, combined with outlooks for the economy and the national election.</p><p><br></p><p>On pocketbook issues, those answering the survey noted coronavirus effects on their current finances and their outlook for the year ahead. Michigan residents who said they were better of