Coronavirus
COVID-19 is surging across the state; less than a week before Election Day, Ohio reported a record high of 3,590 cases in a 24-hour period, over 700 more than the previous high, Governor Mike DeWine’s office said. Forty-three counties in the state are at a very high risk of exposure and spread.
CBS News latest polling shows 62% of likely voters in Ohio say the pandemic will be a “major factor” in their vote for president. Likely Ohio voters also believe Biden would handle the coronavirus pandemic better than Mr. Trump.
At a rally in Circleville, Ohio on October 24, the president declared the virus is “rounding the curve,” but cases have risen in the state even the days since his rally. Biden has lambasted Mr. Trump’s handling of the pandemic and told Ohioans at an event on October 12 that the president had “panicked” in handling the pandemic.
CBS News polling shows 46% of Ohioans believe Trump administration policies “deserve blame” for making the pandemic worse, compared to 35% who say the Trump administration “deserves credit” for its response.
Economy
The economy remains a top issue here and a recent CBS News poll shows a majority of Ohioans believe the president will do a better job than Biden on handling economic issues and protecting manufacturing jobs. Going into Election Day, 83% of likely Ohio voters said the economy is a “major factor” in their vote for president.
More likely Ohio voters also believe that the administration’s policies will help the economy recover. By a slight margin, more said that a Biden administration’s policies would make the economy worse.
Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics says nationwide manufacturing saw job growth since the Great Recession, before stalling near the end of 2019. From September 2019 to September manufacturing lost more than 38,000 jobs.
At his rally in Circleville, Trump vowed to protect American jobs and attacked Democrats. “I will never let anyone rip off our great American worker,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re not going to let them rip it off and they have been doing that for a long time.”
Biden argues the president’s handling of the pandemic is causing rising unemployment. “Unemployment is way up due to the pandemic and the terrible way in which it’s been handled. The economic outlook remains uncertain,” Mr. Biden said in Toledo in October.
