2020 Preview: Voters Are Excited!

In what seems a counterintuitive finding, Rasmussen Reports finds an unusually high level of enthusiasm among voters for next year’s presidential election, especially among Republicans:

Sixty percent (60%) of Likely U.S. Voters say a choice this November between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden is one they are excited about. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 34% will simply be voting for the lesser of two evils instead.

This compares favorably with the last two elections:

By comparison, however, just 41% were excited by a choice between Trump and Hillary Clinton in March 2016. Only 44% were excited about a choice between then-President Barack Obama and putative Republican nominee Mitt Romney in May 2012.

The conventional wisdom has been that Democrats are riled up and champing at the bit to get rid of President Trump, but this survey, at least, finds Republicans to be more enthusiastic about the election:

Republicans (75%) are a lot more enthusiastic about a Trump-Biden matchup than Democrats (57%) and voters not affiliated with either major party (48%) are.
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Ninety-one percent (91%) of voters who Strongly Approve of Trump’s job performance are enthusiastic about a Trump-Biden matchup in the fall. Among those who Strongly Disapprove of the president’s job performance, just 51% agree.

Not surprisingly, young voters are the least excited of all:

[T]hose under 40 who generally are more likely to vote Democrat are far less enthusiastic about a Trump-Biden election than their elders are. Younger voters are also a lot more likely to say they will vote for a third–party candidate this November.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus seems to have hurt President Trump’s approval rating, but not, at this point, by a lot. He currently stands at 46%/52%, the low end of the range he generally has moved within. The Trump campaign is about to release a video ad touting his virus response. We will see whether that makes an impact.

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