Voters overwhelmingly prefer that campaigns don’t dispatch workers to knock on their doors as part of their outreach efforts, with the number rising because of the pandemic that has sickened millions of Americans.
Sixty-three percent of voters now feel apprehensive about encountering canvassers outside their door, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released Tuesday. Just 28 percent say they are comfortable being contacted in person by campaign volunteers.
Donald Trump and Republicans have been far more aggressive than their Democratic counterparts about resuming ground efforts, with Joe Biden’s campaign serving as the highest-profile holdout. The national survey, among the first public polls to track the question, lends legitimacy to Biden’s decision to replace traditional door knockers with calls, texts and other digital tools designed to reach voters.
Asked how they felt prior to the coronavirus, voters were far more closely divided, though they still were suspicious: 42 percent say they felt comfortable and 47 percent were uncomfortable, according to the poll. Impromptu meetings with strangers on their stoops have long been considered effective for candidates, but can be awkward for voters. Campaigns often labor to reduce the unease by sending out workers who live in the community and presumably share their values.
Democratic officials were not surprised by the uptick in squeamishness.
“The pandemic is still raging. We haven’t done a great job of controlling it and there is no reason to think that we will over the next month-and-a-half,” said Kunoor Ojha, who worked as the states organizing director for Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign. "People who run campaigns have an obligation to act responsibly." Door-knocking is "not the only tactic out there.”
Trump and Republicans reintroduced in-person campaign activities in mid-June, including knocking on doors and registering voters in states that allowed it. Party leaders stress that door-knocking is outdoors and can be done safely. Volunteers wear masks and socially distance when they have conversations with voters, and if a voter indicates they don’t want to talk, their volunteers move on, Republicans told POLITICO.
Trump and GOP allies say they tallied more than 1 million doors a week in August "because voters appreciate the contact and want to hear directly from the campaign," a Trump official said. Trump's escalating metrics are causing hand-wringing from some Democrats who said they worry it could give the president a decisive edge in battleground states.
But Biden officials insist the growing disparity in physical door knocks is a mirage because of other methods they’re using to get in contact with voters. Biden’s campaign said its employees and volunteers are having thousands of “meaningful conversations” a day with voters in battleground states about him, “while prioritizing public health and the safety of our supporters,” guided by the conditions on the ground.
“That's what leadership looks like,” spokesperson TJ Ducklo said, “and is what voters want to see in their president.”
The strategy to hang back also reflects Biden’s lower tolerance for risk and the degree to which he's emphasizing the dangers of the virus. For months, Biden has sought to make the contest a referendum on Trump’s handling of the pandemic, pointing to remarks he made downplaying the threat and undermining his own health officials' recommendations on wearing masks. On Monday, Biden marked news of 200,000 deaths and warned against growing numb to the toll on lives and pocketbooks.
The poll found Republicans slightly more accommodating to door-to-door canvassers, before and after the virus took hold. Prior to the pandemic, 48 percent of Republicans felt OK about it, whereas 43 percent of Democrats did. After, 36 percent of Republicans remain fine with the tactic, versus just a quarter of Democrats.
An increasing number of down-ballot Democrats are opting to canvass in person again, even as Biden has stood firm against doing so. This is just one area where the presidential campaigns diverge. Last week, POLITICO detailed the lengths Biden is going to to stay safe, and his campaign has since rolled out testing regimes for more people who might come in contact with the former vice president.
As part of their efforts to minimize spread and model responsible behavior, Biden is keeping his in-person events small while Trump is hosting thousands of supporters, sometimes indoors. Attendees flout local state and local regulations on occupancy limits, social distancing and mandates on mask-wearing.
Just 17 percent of voters agreed with candidates hosting indoor events, versus 30 percent who said campaigns should stage events only outside, the poll found. Of that small number, Republicans (28 percent) were more bullish on indoor events than Democrats (10 percent).
Biden only recently dialed up his public schedule in swing states after months of taunting from Trump and questions about whether he was playing it too safe. Voters, it turns out, remain even more cautious. Forty percent overall said candidates should cancel in-person campaigning entirely and find other ways to connect with voters, given the pandemic.
The discrepancy between parties is significant — 51 percent of Democrats don’t want in-person campaigning, more than double the number of Republicans, 24 percent, who would prefer candidates identify other means to get their messages out to voters.
Only 14 percent of voters said candidates should travel to connect with voters, even if that means they don’t always follow social distancing restrictions, the poll found. Forty-two percent said they should travel, but only if they uphold distancing restrictions.
The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll was conducted Sept. 18 to Sept. 20, surveying 1,989 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Morning Consult is a global data intelligence company, delivering insights on what people think in real time by surveying tens of thousands across the globe every single day.More details on the poll and its methodology can be found in these two documents: Toplines | Crosstabs
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