Rhode Island likely voters favor Democratic Vice President Kamala
Harris, right, over Republican former President Donald Trump, left, by a 52% to
38% margin with 7% still undecided, according to a new poll out of Salve Regina University’s Pell Center. (Trump photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images; Harris photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Rhode Island voters are much more firmly behind Democratic nominee Kamala Harris than Joe Biden, but remain not so keen on Gov. Dan McKee, according to a new poll published Monday by the Pell Center at Salve Regina University.
Harris maintained a 14-percentage-point margin over Donald Trump among the 876 likely voters surveyed, with 52% saying they would vote for her, compared to 38% saying they would vote for Trump, and 7% undecided. That’s twice the lead that Biden held over Trump when the Pell Center poll was last conducted in June, when Biden was the party nominee.
“That gave us some concern,” Jim Ludes, Pell Center executive director, said of Biden’s 7-percentage-point lead over Trump in the June survey. “It didn’t seem like Rhode Island. Seeing this rebound for Harris feels more like a return to normalcy.”
Among independent voters, however, Trump maintains an 11-percentage-point lead, though 11% were undecided at the time the surveys were conducted, from Sept. 16 to 20.
The poll conducted by Embold Research on behalf of the Pell Center has a 3.5% margin of error.
Harris’ lead over Trump is not as wide as the 20-percentage-point margin in a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released Sept. 18. It’s slightly larger, however, than the 12-percentage-point lead Harris held over Trump in a Rhode Island Current poll.
Ludes was not concerned by the differing margins.
“It’s definitely an art form rather than a science, but the overall direction of all of these surveys is all indicating that Rhode Island seems to be going for Harris,” Ludes said.
Rhode Island likely voters favor Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump by a 52% to
38% margin with 7% still undecided, according to the latest poll out of Salve Regina University’s Pell Center. (September 2024 Survey Report, compiled by Jim Ludes and Katie Sonder Pell Center for International Relations at Public Policy at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island)
56% disapprove of McKee
The same cannot be said for McKee. The governor, who isn’t facing reelection until 2026, remained at a 34% approval rating — 2 percentage points below the results of the June survey. More than half of survey participants — 56% — somewhat, or strongly, disapproved of McKee’s job performance.
Ludes chalked up the lack of support to the Interstate 195 Washington Bridge rebuild, which has continued to face delays in both the award of a rebuilding contract alongside lack of details on the promised “day of reckoning.”
In contrast to McKee, Rhode Island’s four congressional members — three of whom are up for reelection in November — enjoy strong support among likely voters. Democratic Reps. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo gained support against their Republican challengers among likely voters, compared with results of the June survey.
So too, did U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who faces former state Rep. Patricia Morgan in the upcoming general election. When voters were queried about their support for Whitehouse or his opponent in June, the Republican challenger was unnamed, awaiting results of the September primary.
“The campaigns are all ramping up,” Ludes said, though he noted that the increase in support for Whitehouse was within the margin of error for the poll.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee and Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos are facing more disapproval than federal office holders in the survey. (September 2024 Survey Report, compiled by Jim Ludes and Katie Sonder Pell Center for International Relations at Public Policy at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island)
Despite the fast-approaching elections, 7% of likely voters are still undecided on the choice between Harris and Trump. The yet-to-decide group is even larger among independent voters, 11% of whom had not made a choice in the presidential race.
Independents were also least happy with their choices for the top of the ticket race, with 55% dissatisfied with the party nominees. Among Republicans, nearly one-third expressed dissatisfaction, while just 17% of Democrats felt the same.
It’s definitely an art form rather than a science, but the overall direction of all of these surveys is all indicating that Rhode Island seems to be going for Harris.
– Jim Ludes, Pell Center executive director
The biggest partisan divide, however, was showcased in the issues considered most important by voters. The state of democracy and abortion were the top two topics among Democratic voters, while Republicans honed in on immigration and the economy. Independent voters were more equally divided across a broader range of issues, but named the state of democracy and economic policies as the deciding factors.
Rhode Island Current’s poll showed a similar divide in priority issues based on party affiliation, though climate change was also a top concern among Democratic voters in that poll.
“The thing that tells me is that all these other issues, foreign policy, health care, climate change, student loans, they barely move the needle in terms of what people care about,” Ludes said.
Which could be because voters are actively avoiding consuming information about some of these topics. Nearly four in 10 survey participants said they avoid news about national politics or the election coverage in general. Republicans were most likely to steer clear of climate change and environmental news — named as a topic to avoid by nearly two-thirds — along with social justice issues and entertainment and celebrity news. The Israel-Hamas War and the war in Ukraine were also avoided by one-third of likely voters across party affiliation, while a quarter ignored stories about crime or gun violence.
Many voters admit to actively avoiding news coverage with Election Day approaching. (September 2024 Survey Report, compiled by Jim Ludes and Katie Sonder Pell Center for International Relations at Public Policy at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island)
As for news sourcing, Fox News was the dominant choice among Republicans, while networks including CBS, ABC and NBC were top picks by Democrats. Independent voters favored local TV news compared to other sources. While less popular, Facebook remained a source for one-quarter of voters across party affiliations, trumping local newspapers and local public radio.
Among those who participated in the Pell Center poll, 46% identified as unaffiliated voters, while 39% were Democrats, and 14% were Republicans. The poll included responses from residents reflecting a range of ages, races, education levels and of both genders.
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