August 23rd, 2020, Candice Jaimungal
Ahead of the Republican National Convention, Republicans view the country's top issues very differently from their Democratic counterparts.
In a recent CBS News/YouGov Poll, Republicans are more likely than all voters to say America is better off today than it was four years ago (75% vs. 35%). Confidence in President Trump among Republicans is high (83%).
Republicans are more likely than overall national voters to say the condition of the national economy is good (67% vs. 35%), and that the countries dealing with coronavirus is going well (73% vs. 38%).
About four in 10 registered voters (44%) say that deaths from coronavirus are higher than reported, while over three in five (64%) of Republican say COVID-19 deaths are fewer than reported.
Republicans (57%) are more likely than Independents (33%), and Democrats (10%) to say the number of US deaths from the coronavirus has been acceptable. Democrats (90%) are more likely than Independents (67%), and Republicans (43%) to say the number of US deaths from COVID-19 has not been acceptable.
About three in five (58%) Republican registered voters say the main reason they are a Republican is because they like what the party stands for, compared to 42 percent who say they are a Republican because they dislike what Democrats stand for.
Republicans also have differing opinions when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement and discrimination. Eight in 10 (81%) Republicans say that attention to discrimination is too much, compared to 44 percent of all voters, and 12 percent of Democrats. Democrats (55%) are more likely than Republicans (6%) to say that attention to discrimination is not enough.
With the upcoming Republican National Convention, most Republicans (90%) say they would prefer to hear Republicans talk more about the good things about President Trump and VP Pence, compared to criticism of Biden and Harris (10%).
In comparison, Democrats wrapped up the Democratic National Convention last week. Voters who watched a lot of the DNC were mostly Democrats (71%), compared to 17 percent of Independents, and 11 percent of Republicans.
Post DNC, very strong support for Biden among national Biden voters has increased from 83 percent pre-convention, to 87 percent.
The main reason Biden voters support their candidate has remained the same as pre-convention, to oppose Trump (42%), although more Biden voters are now saying their main reason for supporting Biden is because they like Joe Biden (Pre-convention 29%; Now 38%). Additionally, enthusiasm for voting among Democrats has increased from 66 percent pre-convention to 69 percent. Among all voters, 54 percent say they have a more positive opinion of Biden after the convention, compared to 45 percent of Independents and 78 percent of Democrats.
According to the latest data, Biden leads the way among national likely voters (52% vs. 42%).
See the Toplines from the latest CBS News/YouGov Poll
Methodology: The CBS News national survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 2,226 U.S. registered voters interviewed between August 19-21, 2020. The margin of error is ± 2.4 points. The CBS News national post-convention survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 957 U.S. registered voters re-interviewed after the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention, between August 20-22, 2020, and who had been interviewed in CBS News polls prior to the convention. The margin of error is ± 3.6 points.
Image: Getty