Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by 9 points in Pennsylvania according to the new Franklin & Marshall College poll. 

Biden leads Trump 50-to-41 among registered voters, while 2% said that they’d support some other candidate, and 6% said that they aren’t sure how they would vote for the presidency. There are “far fewer” registered voters in the state that are expressing support for either a third-party candidate or voters who are undecided in comparison to the July 2016 F&M poll. 

38% say that Trump is doing an “excellent” or “good” job as president, while 52% say that Trump is doing a “poor” job as president. The 38% job approval rating is the same as the most recent F&M poll on the matter in January 2020, while his disapproval rating slightly ticks up from when it was 49% in the first month of the year. 

When Pennsylvania registered voters were asked for Trump’s performance on six specific topics, the president received his highest marks on the economy, while his lowest ratings are on his handling of COVID-19. 

45% said that Trump has done either an “excellent” or “very good” job helping to create new jobs, while 36% said that the president deserves either a “failing” or “below average” grade on the matter, and 17% said that the president has been “average” on the issue. 

29% said that Trump has done an “excellent” or “very good job” handling coronavirus outbreak, while 57% said that he deserves either a “failing” or “below average” grade on the matter, and 14% said that the president has been “average” on his response to COVID-19. 

Trump’s job approval rating was also under water for the remaining four topics asked to registered voters, although his handling of foreign policy and immigration are considerably stronger than his ratings on improving the healthcare system and protecting the environment. 

37% said that Trump has done an “excellent” or “very good” job handling foreign policy, while 52% believe that the president deserves either a “failing” or “below average” grade on the matter, and 11% said that the president’s response to the matter has been “average”.

37% said that Trump has done an “excellent” or “very good” job handling immigration, while 51% believes that he deserves either a “failing” or “below average” grade on the topic, and 11% said that the president’s response to it has been “average”.

26% said that Trump has done an “excellent” or “very good” job improving the healthcare system, while 53% said that the president deserves either a “failing” or “below average” grade on the matter, and 19% said that the president has been “average” on the issue. 

25% said that Trump has done an “excellent” or “very good” job protecting the environment, while 55% said that he deserves either a “failing” or “below average” grade on the topic, and 17% said that he’s been “average” on the issue. 

Biden gains a few points in his favorability rating in comparison to the F&M poll in January, while Trump’s remains virtually the same. 

42% either have a “strongly favorable” or “somewhat favorable” view of Trump, while 56% have an either “strongly unfavorable” or “somewhat unfavorable” view. In the previous F&M poll, 41% said they either had a “strongly favorable” or “somewhat favorable” view of Trump, while 55% have an either “strongly unfavorable” or “somewhat unfavorable” view.

48% either have a “strongly favorable” or “somewhat favorable” view of Biden, while 48% have an either “strongly unfavorable” or “somewhat unfavorable” view. In the previous F&M poll, prior to the first Democratic caucus, 43% said that they either had a “strongly favorable” or “somewhat favorable” view of Biden, while 47% said that they had an either “strongly unfavorable” or “somewhat unfavorable” view of the former VP. 

The impact of the coronavirus looms large in this latest poll with Pennsylvania registered voters selecting it as the most important problem facing the state today. 

32% said that COVID-19 is the most important problem facing Pennsylvania today. The only other option that cracked double digits in this poll was “government, politicians” being selected by 13% of people viewing it as the most important issue facing the state today. 

In January 2020’s F&M poll, “government, politicians” led the way as the most important issue facing the state with 18% selecting this matter. 13% said that unemployment and personal finances was the most important issue in January, making it the second most important topic in the state at that point in time. The only other issue to crack double digits in January was “taxes” with 11% saying it was the most important issue in the state. 

The Real Clear Politics Average shows Biden besting Trump by 6 points in Pennsylvania. 

This overall poll, surveying 667 Pennsylvania registered voters, collected data between July 20-26, has a margin of error of +/-5.5%. 

The full data can be found here.