A newly released poll conducted by the University of New Orleans’ Survey Research Center found that a majority of the state approves of the job that Governor John Bel Edwards has done.
Respondents were asked how they rated the job performance of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. Fifty-six percent of respondents rate the governor positively in how he is handling his responsibilities. Thirty-eight percent report that they are unhappy with the governor’s job performance. Six percent of respondents did not offer an opinion on how he is performing in office.
The bar chart demonstrates how ratings of Edwards break down by race. Seventy percent of African Americans and one-half of whites say they approve of the governor’s performance in office. Whites, however, did communicate the highest level of dissatisfaction with Edwards. One-quarter of blacks are not approving of the job the governor is doing. Non-black minorities are twice as likely to answer that they approve of the governor than disapprove of him.
A gender gap is present in the approval ratings of John Bel Edwards. The percentage of women who approve of the governor’s job performance is eleven points higher that it is for men. On the other hand, the percentage of men who negatively evaluate the governor is twelve points higher than it is for women.
Age does not appear to have any influence on the perception of the governor’s performance in office. The differences in both approval and disapproval across the three age cohorts is within the margin of error. As a result, we cannot say with any statistical confidence that there are any real differences in attitude across the three age categories.
Not surprisingly, partisan identification shapes how the governor is rated. Nearly nine-of-ten Democrats approve of his job performance while six-in-ten Republicans disapprove. Edwards, however, does receive positive ratings from one-third of Republicans and from a majority of Independents/Third Party members.
Respondents were asked to give their opinion on whether they thought the Covid-19 virus is a serious problem or not. Two-thirds of the overall sample believe that the virus is a genuine concern. There are some distinctions in
opinion across demographic groups. Blacks and non-black minorities are more likely than whites to agree that the Covid-19 virus should be taken seriously. Women are slightly more likely than men to express that opinion. The youngest age group is more likely to view the virus more critically than the two older age cohorts. There is, however, a large degree of disagreement between Democrats and Republicans on how serious a problem the virus is. Nearly nine-in-ten Democrats think the virus is a significant issue while just over a majority of Republicans say the same thing. Attitudes toward the virus influenced evaluations of the Louisiana governor. Among those who thought the virus was a serious problem, seven-in-ten approve of the job he is doing. However, among those who believe the virus is not a serious issue, seven-in-ten disapprove of Edwards job performance.
For complete survey details: https://www.uno.edu/media/23326