TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 45%

Same as yesterday

RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on five polls. The range is 40% (Morning Consult) to 49% (Rasmussen). Without these extremes, it would still be 45%…. President Trump’s disapproval rating averages 52% (-1 from yesterday), which is 7 points higher than his approval.

A MESSAGE FROM CERTUS INSIGHTS
Developing a new communications plan? Start with a media audit from Certus Insights. We leverage cutting edge media analytics to evaluate up to two years’ of news, blogs and social media data. See our social listening capabilities at certusinsights.com

NATIONAL: DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION

Among Democratic voters nationwide

Joe Biden: 25% (+3 from last week)
Elizabeth Warren: 16% (-2)
Bernie Sanders: 12%
Kamala Harris: 11% (-4)
Pete Buttigieg: 6%
Cory Booker: 3% (+1)
Beto O’Rourke: 2%
Bill de Blasio: 2% (+1)
Candidates with 1% or less not listed

RON’S COMMENT: Since last week in this poll, Biden, Booker and de Blasio are up and Harris and Warren are down. Biden improved the most and Harris slipped the most. Could it be that the race is slowly reverting to where it was before the debates?

RATING “THE SQUAD”

Among voters nationwide

Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people? 

Among all voters:
% = Favorable/Unfavorable
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez: 37%/47%
Rashida Tlaib: 28%/37%
Ilhan Omar: 29%/40%
Ayana Pressley: 23%/20%

Among Democrats:
% = Favorable/Unfavorable
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez: 59%/19%
Rashida Tlaib: 43%/13%
Ilhan Omar: 44%/15%
Ayana Pressley: 35%/10%

Among independents:
% = Favorable/Unfavorable
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez: 27%/39%
Rashida Tlaib: 18%/32%
Ilhan Omar: 18%/35%
Ayana Pressley: 16%/18%

RON’S COMMENT: Three of the four Democratic House members known as “The Squad” have net negative favorability ratings among all voters. All four are net negative among independents. However, they all have high net positive ratings among Democrats. Ratings among Republicans are predictably awful: Ocasio-Cortez, for example, is 10% favorable/71% unfavorable among Republicans.

SPACE EXPLORATION

Among voters nationwide

Should government funding of space exploration be increased, kept the same or decreased? 

Increased: 42%
Kept the same: 32%
Decreased: 15%

RON’S COMMENT: There are only small differences by partisanship, although Republicans are slightly more in favor of increasing space exploration funding than are Democrats.

WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE

Among voters statewide

Do you think the following statements are true or not true? 

The Earth is flat. 
True: 10%
Not true: 90%

RON’S COMMENT: 19% of adults 18-29 years old say the earth is flat. Only 3% of those 65 and older say so.

Vaccines have been shown to cause autism. 
True: 20%
Not true: 79%

RON’S COMMENT: 14% of Democrats, 21% of independents and 28% of Republicans say it’s true.

Leaked email from some of Hillary Clinton’s campaign staffers contained code words for pedophilia, human trafficking and satanic ritual abuse––what some people refer to as ’Pizzagate’.
True: 35%
Not true: 65%

RON’S COMMENT: 17% of Democrats, 35% of independents and 58% of Republicans say it’s true.

President Obama was born in Kenya. 
True: 34%
Not true: 65%

RON’S COMMENT: 15% of Democrats, 35% of independents and 56% of Republicans say it’s true.

CHECK OUT THE NEW MEHLMAN CASTAGNETTI QUARTERLY ANALYSIS
Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas puts out an eagerly-anticipated & widely-read quarterly analysis on politics and policy. Their latest examines how the 2020 elections might impact the future of US politics: For the analysis, click here

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