A new poll from Quinnipiac University shows former Vice President Joe Biden up 15 percentage points in Maine while only trailing President Donald Trump by one point in the 2nd District, while House Speaker Sara Gideon maintains a narrow lead over Sen. Susan Collins.
The poll, which was released Thursday alongside others in potential swing states, surveyed 807 registered Maine voters between July 30 and Aug. 3. The margin of error was 3.5 percent.
Biden was favored by 52 percent of Mainers in the presidential race while 37 percent said they would vote for Trump. The Democratic nominee also had a significant lead among independent voters, with 48 percent of independents saying they would vote for him, compared to 35 percent for Trump, a Republican. Biden was backed by 14 percent of Republicans, the poll showed.
Biden performed best among women and college-educated voters, with 59 percent of women saying they would vote for him, compared to 31 percent for Trump. Among voters with a four-year degree, Biden had the support of a whopping 77 percent, with Trump picking up 19 percent.
Trump got poor marks on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with 37 percent of respondents saying they approved of his performance while 60 percent disapproved. However, the president is competitive in the 2nd District, where the poll showed him narrowly leading Biden, 45 percent to 44 percent. Trump won the district by 10 points in 2016.
The vast majority of voters were certain about how they will vote in the presidential election, though Biden supporters were slightly more sure than Trump supporters with 96 percent of Biden supporters saying they would definitely vote for him and 92 percent of Trump supporters saying he definitely had their vote.
The poll also showed Gideon, a Democrat from Freeport, with 47 percent of votes compared to 43 percent for Collins, with 2 percent of voters saying they would pick someone else. Two independents, former Green party candidate Lisa Savage of Solon and Bar Harbor businessman Max Linn, will also be on the November ballot. The four-point lead for Gideon is consistent with several other public polls in the last few months.
The race between Gideon and Collins showed sharp demographic divides, with Gideon leading with 70 percent of votes among college-educated voters. The Freeport Democrat also got 56 percent of the vote among women, compared to 38 percent for Collins.
Forty-eight percent of voters said they thought Collins is too supportive of Trump, while 33 percent said they thought she has the right attitude towards the president and 12 percent believed she is not supportive enough.
The poll was also another good showing for Gov. Janet Mills. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they approved of the Democratic governor’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, while only 32 percent disapproved.