If there’s one thing that shouldn’t fall along party lines, it’s a response to a public health crisis. As a new poll from NBC News/Wall Street Journal suggests, however, Democratic and Republican voters have some considerable differences in the way they’re reacting to the novel coronavirus. And these differences aren’t just a matter of opinion or prediction, either; the differences involve how much social distancing people plan to do, including travel and going out to eat. And as we’re learning, what one of us does isn’t a solitary act; flattening the curve (or not) impacts everyone.
Before we get into the data, let’s go over some background on the poll. The national poll was conducted March 11-13. 900 registered voters participated. There is a margin of error of plus-minus 3.3%. The majority of respondents were reached by cell phone. The majority of respondents were white and non-Hispanic. You can check out the data here.
According to this poll, 36% of Democrats say they’ve already stopped, or plan to stop, going out to eat, while 12% of Republicans say the same. On a similar note, 61% of Democrats say they’ve stopped, or plan to stop, going to big public gatherings. Less than half, at 30%, of Republicans, do. Given the recent flurry of travel bans from Europe, and more recently, including Ireland and the U.K., many people are concerned about how the coronavirus may impact travel. 47% of Democrats say they plan to cancel travel, while just under one-quarter of Republicans, at 23%, say the same.
Does perspective on flattening the curve correlate with how worried people are about a family member catching the coronavirus? Seemingly, yes. In this case, 68% of Democrats say they’re worried a close family member could catch the virus. In contrast, 40% of Republicans say they are.
These numbers also line up when we look at how worried people are about daily life changing. Just over one-quarter of Republicans say their daily lives may change in a major way because of the virus, while 56% of Democrats believe that.
These numbers match up pretty consistently against data from a recent Quinnipiac poll, which found that Republicans are less likely to be concerned about the coronavirus overall, with a considerable contrast between older Democrats and older Republicans. In fact, as reported by Axios, Republicans were two times as likely as Democrats to suggest media reporting on the virus were “seriously exaggerated,” with Democrats more likely to avoid public spaces than Republicans.
Civiqs polling shows the same sentiment, as illustrated well in these two charts. First, Democrats.
And now, Republicans.
It’s not terribly surprising to see a bipartisan divide, though that doesn't make it any less concerning. Given that Donald Trump continues to model bad behavior by shaking hands, Mitch McConnell left the Capitol for the weekend, putting a pause on coronavirus legislation, and Fox News hosts have been downplaying the virus on TV, Republican voters may very well lean into the notion that the coronavirus is basically a big, bad flu (which, is not, of course, accurate). Misinformation is always dangerous, but in the face of a pandemic, we can’t overestimate how important it is to try and reach across the political aisle and educate people with facts, not judgment or dismissal. After all, lives may depend on it.