Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Registered Voters now believe the worst of the pandemic is behind us. matches the highest level yet measured in polls by Scott Rasmussen this year. The number holding that optimistic view has nearly doubled from the summer low recorded in July.
The number who believe the worst is still to come is 49%. It’s the first time ever that number has remained below 50% in back-to-back weeks.
Among Likely Voters, 32% believe the worst is behind us while 48% take the opposite view.
However, there is a substantial gap between the views of Red and Blue state voters.
Blue States are far more pessimistic. In states where Democrats won by more than 4 points in 2016, 54% believe the worst is still to come while just 27% believe it is behind us.
In Red States, voters are evenly divided—38% say it’s behind us while 43% believe the worst is still to come.
In the ten purple states—decided by less four points or less in 2016—32% believe the worst is behind us while 45% believe it is still to come.
This is the first time we have measured the views of Likely Voters, but the trend lines among Registered Voters show a steadily declining level of pessimism.
The number who believe the worst is behind us is up two points from a week ago, up three from two weeks ago, and up nine from three weeks ago. It has nearly doubled from the 15% recorded in July.
Scott Rasmussen has been tracking this question on a weekly basis and will continue to do so. Results in this feature are based upon a survey of 1,200 Registered Voters conducted September 3-5, 2020. The sample included 942 Likely Voters.
Other data from last week’s survey found that 59% of voters believe it’s time to move forward by adapting to the ongoing nature of the pandemic. Thirty-one percent (31%) take the opposite view and believe it is better for America to lockdown again until the pandemic is completely behind us.
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Methodology
The survey of 1,200 Registered Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen using a mixed mode approach from September 3-5, 2020. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Most respondents were contacted online or via text while 186 were contacted using automated phone polling techniques. Certain quotas were applied to the overall sample and lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of Registered Voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.
The sample included 942 Likely Voters were defined as those who say they are “Definitely going to vote” or “Very Likely to Vote” and who know how they will vote. The Likely Voter sample was 35% Republican, 39% Democrat, and 26% Independent.
