Most Ohioans Support Gov. DeWine's Handling Of COVID-19: Poll

OHIO — A new poll finds that a majority of Ohioans view COVID-19 as the biggest issue facing the state...and most Ohioans support Gov. Mike DeWine's handling of the crisis.

The Spectrum Networks conducted its first news poll in Ohio. The poll focused on how Ohioans feel about a variety of issues facing the state and their community, including COVID-19, voting, the movement to impeach DeWine and the president contracting the virus.

The poll found that 55 percent of Ohioans believe COVID-19 is the biggest problem facing the state. The next most concerning issue was opioid or drug addiction (which 35 percent of Ohioans cited as the biggest problem in Ohio). Unemployment was voted the third largest problem in the state.

The vast majority of Ohioans (70 percent) believe a return to normal life post-pandemic will take at least 6 months.

While support for DeWine has appeared to wane since the start of the pandemic, the majority of Ohioans still approve of his efforts to contain COVID-19 and keep the economy sputtering along. The Spectrum poll found 65 percent of Ohioans support the governor's work during the pandemic.

Ohioans also agree with the state law mandating mask usage in public (61 percent approval), while only 30 percent of Ohioans feel lockdowns locally have been too restrictive. Nearly half of Ohioans feel the mandate closing bars early has helped limit the spread of the virus (only 36 percent of Ohioans disagree with the law).

While many Ohioans agree with DeWine's efforts to stymie the virus, others would like to see the governor's powers greatly restricted.

However, 31 percent of Republicans favor impeaching the governor. And less than half of Ohioans approve of the governor's efforts on gun control (47 percent approval) and in combating climate change (40 percent approval).

The battle against COVID-19 has also had an impact on how Ohioans view national politics.

A slight majority (51 percent) of Ohioans said they believe President Donald Trump's comments on mask wearing and social distancing have soured them on the president. The president contracting the virus earlier didn't do him any favors, with 48 percent of Ohioans saying it did not change their opinion of Trump and 32 percent saying it made them view him less favorably.

The latest Baldwin Wallace Great Lakes poll shows Ohio is currently a toss-up state, with no clear frontrunner between Trump and his challenger Joe Biden. The general election is Nov. 3.