COVID19...How Eager Are Voters?
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, we’ve been analyzing the data from our groundbreaking and up-to-the-moment research on COVID-19 every month and measuring its impact on voters.
In our research, we saw four distinct segments that have emerged in relation to sentiment as stores, restaurants and other businesses move into phased reopening and their varying comfort level resuming in-person activities. We call these segments Reopen Ready, Reopen Rushers, Reopen Reluctant and Reopen Resistant. Each group is unique in the values and drivers that define their actions which could prove crucial come November.
Reopen Ready Voters
As the smallest of the four segments, these 9.5 million voters say they feel safe doing several in-person activities. They don’t want to rush the process, but they’re ready.
Who Are They?
These voters are mostly males ages 25-34 who have full-time jobs. When it comes to their personal values, they place an emphasis on showing their abilities and being admired, maintaining a good public image and the freedom to be creative. This segment is likely eager to get back to working in an office, as they’re deeply motivated by maintaining their identity as successful individuals.
They’re 26% more likely. than the average U.S. voter to spend more than 40 hours a week online and they’re 26% more likely to get COVID-19 news from Twitter. When it comes to their political party, there’s an even split, 32% of them identify as Democrat,
Coronavirus Sentiment: 69% of Reopen Ready Voters are concerned about coronavirus to a moderate extent and 52% are practicing social distancing to a large extent. 92% are quarantining at home to a moderate or large extent and 58% are washing their hands to a large extent. Despite taking proper precautions, this segment is still 14% more likely to believe the media is over-representing coronavirus in the media.
Reopen Rusher Voters
These 11.5 million voters feel safe doing most in-person activities. They believe we’ll be back to normal in a matter of months and they’re not overly concerned with closely tracking hot spots.
Who Are They?
These voters are males and females ages 45-54. When it comes to their personal values, they put emphasis on maintaining traditions, safety in one’s nation and living a life full of excitement, which aligns with their hope that things will be back to normal in 2-3 months.They’re 13% more likely to get coronavirus news from Fox News or YouTube. When it comes to their political party, they’re 34% more likely to identify as Republican, 36% more likely to identify as Democrat and 25% more likely to identify as Independent.
Coronavirus Sentiment: These voters are 29% more likely to be tracking outbreaks constantly throughout the day and 71% believe the COVID-19 coverage in the media is appropriate. They’re taking proper precautions with 39% practicing social distancing to a moderate extent and 61% are washing their hands to a large extent.31% identify as Independent and 29% identify as Republican.
Reopen Reluctant
This segment of 30.3 million voters feels safe doing a few in-person activities. Their awareness of illness spread that has led this group, while cautiously optimistic about reopening, to believe that perhaps it isn’t the best decision right this minute.
Who Are They?
These voters are mostly married males between ages 25-34 with no children. When it comes to their personal values, they place an emphasis on showing their abilities and being admired, maintaining a good public image and being humble. This explains why they’re hesitant to go out and do in-person activities – they don’t want to get dirty looks for going out into public too soon.
They’re 13% more likely to get their coronavirus news from Facebook and they’re 25% more likely to believe the media is over-blowing the coronavirus pandemic. When it comes to their political party, they’re 34% more likely to identify as Democrat, 31% more likely to identify as Republican and 28% more likely to identify as Independent.
Coronavirus Sentiment: 66% of these voters are concerned about coronavirus to a moderate extent, 54% are practicing social distancing to a large extent and 58% are washing their hands to a large extent. This segment is also 24% more likely to believe things will be back to normal in 2-3 months, perhaps because they’re taking their safety precautions so seriously.
Reopen Resistant
These 174 million voters feel safe doing little to no in-person activities. As the biggest segment of the four, they’re not sure reopening is the right decision at this point and their behaviors align.
Who Are They?
These voters are mostly made up of married females ages 25-34 with no children. Their top values are caring for nature, accepting those that are different and treating everyone equally. Clearly, they care deeply for others, which explains why they might be more hesitant to go out in public and accidentally get someone sick.
This group is closely following along with pandemic news. 71% believe the media is appropriately representing the pandemic, while 88% are tracking outbreaks frequently or constantly throughout the day. When it comes to their political party, 40% of this group identifies as Democrat, the highest of all four groups.
Coronavirus Sentiment: This group is the most concerned about the coronavirus pandemic, with 39% of voters worried to a large extent. 60% are practicing social distancing and 61% are washing their hands to a large extent. 30% of them cannot work at home, which may explain why they’re so resistant to go back out in public. Only 4% believe that life will be back to normal in 2-3 months.We know that voter sentiment is changing rapidly, so these numbers will continue to shift as we move towards phased reopening across the United States. Resonate is closely tracking real-time data as well as actively collecting and analyzing survey results to measure the values, opinions, and motivations of American voters that will help inform your campaign decision making during this critical time.
