More voters said the economy is the issue most important to their vote in the upcoming election, according to a new Epoch Times/Big Data poll.
Out of 2,169 respondents, just over 28 percent ranked the economy and jobs as their top concern.
About 15 percent named healthcare as the most important issue, followed by policing and crime (9.3 percent), the environment/climate change (6.2 percent), immigration (5.5 percent), terrorism/national security (5.2 percent), and education (4 percent).
A plurality of white respondents chose the economy while more black likely voters, and Hispanic likely voters, named the virus as their top concern.
The favored issue among Republican respondents was the economy, while Democrats by a 19 percent margin chose the CCP virus. Independents/something else narrowly chose the economy and jobs over the virus.
The economy and jobs was the most important issue for those with postgraduate, undergraduate, or some education past high school, while those with just a high school diploma or less ranked the virus as their top concern.
Both suburban and rural groups of respondents opted for the economy and jobs as their top concern, while people living in urban areas were tied between the economy and the pandemic.
The economy is typically a top concern among voters even in normal times, Jacob Neiheisel, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Buffalo, told The Epoch Times.
The CCP virus situation is a new concern and taking people’s attention from issues that they cared about before the pandemic, he said.
As far as whether another issue will emerge as a top concern for so many people, that doesn’t appear likely at this time.
“It would take something of that magnitude to really shake things up,” according to Neiheisel.
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