A majority believe government, business community and others are taking adequate steps to combat coronavirus
LANSING, Mich. –Michigan residents have expressed overwhelming concern for the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), according to the latest statewide poll conducted by Marketing Resource Group (MRG). When asked if they are concerned about COVID-19 and how it may affect them or their family, 82 percent of respondents voiced concern with 16 percent of voters claiming they are not concerned about the virus.
Concern about the virus is consistently high among voters across all geographic areas of the state, demographic groups and political beliefs.
When asked about the response of the government, sports leagues, the business community and others to the COVID-19 pandemic, 58 percent of voters agree that the response is “about right.” Sixteen percent believe the response is “too extreme” with another 22 percent claiming the response is “not extreme enough.”
“The landscape and dynamics surrounding COVID-19 are continuously changing,” said Jenell Leonard, owner of MRG. “While it is a top concern for many residents, they believe government, sports leagues, the business community and others are taking the right and necessary steps to combat the invisible enemy to protect the public.”
When asked the open question about what respondents feel is the most important issue facing Michigan right now, coronavirus came in first at 27 percent, followed by infrastructure/roads at 16 percent, and jobs/economy at 13 percent.
“COVID-19 is top-of-mind for voters across the state,” said Tom Shields, MRG’s Senior Advisor. “As the number of cases continue to climb and businesses remain shut down, we are also seeing a growing concern about the Coronavirus on jobs, the economy and health care. This may be the only thing on voters’ minds in the months ahead.”
The actual wording of the questions asked by MRG are below:
Are you personally concerned or not really concerned about the coronavirus and how it might affect you and your family?
Extremely concerned ……………………….. 49%
Somewhat concerned ………………………. 33%
Neither (Volunteered) ……………………….. 2%
Somewhat not concerned …………………. 10%
Extremely not concerned……………………..6%
Don’t know ……………………………………………0%
Refused ………………………………………………….0%
TOTAL CONCERNED……………………………..82%
TOTAL NOT CONCERNED…………………….16%
What do you think of the response to the coronavirus pandemic by our federal, state, local governments, sports leagues, businesses and others? Do you feel their responses have been a little too extreme, about right or not extreme enough?
Too extreme…………………………. 16%
About right…………………………….58%
Not extreme enough……………….22%
Don’t know……………………………. 4%
Refused………………………….………0%
What are the most important issues facing the state of Michigan at this time? That is, the one or two you personally are most worried about?
The Coronavirus ……………………………27%
Roads/infrastructure/pot hole ………16%
The economy and jobs……………………13%
Health Care Issues ………………………….10%
Education ………………………………………….8%
Environmental issues ………………………5%
Auto Insurance Rates………………………..4%
Politicians/Government ……………………4%
Taxes/Gas Tax ………………………………….. 3%
Crime/Drugs ……………………………………. 3%
Don’t know ……………………………………… 3%
Refused ……………………………………………. 2%
Other ……………………………………………….. 4%
MRG Michigan Poll® Spring 2020
The survey of 600 likely Michigan voters was conducted by live interview March 16-19, 2020. The sample was randomly drawn from a listed sample of all registered voters with a history of voting and stratified by city and township to reflect voter turnout. 30% of the sample was conducted with cell phone users. In addition, quotas for gender and cell phone interviews were met within each geographic area, and extra efforts were made to reach African Americans. Thirty percent of the interviews were conducted with cell phone only or cell phone dominant
households. We invite you to contact Tom Shields or Jenell Leonard if you would like a more detailed breakdown of the numbers.
A sample of 600 likely voters in Michigan yields a sampling margin of error of ±4 percent with a 95 percent confidence interval. The sampling margin of error for subgroups may be higher depending on the size of the subgroup.
About Marketing Resource Group, LLC.
Lansing, Michigan-based Marketing Resource Group, LLC. (www.mrgmi.com) is an award-winning PR firm representing corporate, association, nonprofit, and private clients with interests in Michigan. MRG offers expertise in public affairs, communications, political campaign management, and public opinion survey research. For more than thirty years, MRG has conducted its bi-annual omnibus Michigan Poll®, tracking the pulse of Michigan voters on key statewide public policy and political issues. MRG is the only Michigan public opinion survey research firm that maintains nearly 35 years of trend analyses of voter attitudes related to state and national leaders, political parties, and the political and economic climate in Michigan.
Follow MRG on Twitter @mrgmichigan and on Facebook.
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