FAYETTEVILLE — About seven out of every 10 Arkansans has known someone who died or was hospitalized from covid-19, according to statewide poll results released Thursday.
But mask requirements aimed at reducing the spread of covid-19 in schools evenly divided respondents in this year’s Arkansas Poll, sponsored by the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
The poll, in its 23rd year, also found a steep rise in pessimism about the economy and growing concerns about climate change.
Mask requirements were most popular for air travel, with 61% of poll respondents favoring mandatory face coverings on airplanes.
But other possible mask requirements fared worse in the poll, with 51% of respondents favoring mandatory face coverings at sporting events or concerts, or as a requirement to attend public universities in person.
Half of all poll respondents favored a mask requirement to attend K-12 public schools.
Covid-19 vaccination requirements were generally less popular than masking mandates, though 48% approved of requiring vaccination to travel by airplane. A total of 42% of respondents favored a covid-19 vaccination requirement to attend public colleges and universities in person, and 39% favored such a requirement for attending K-12 public schools.
Asked if they expect to be better or worse off financially a year from now, a total of 27% said worse off, while 45% said about the same and 21% said better.
The percent saying they expect to be worse off was higher than any recent year in the poll. Last year, 6% of poll respondents said they expected to be worse off in a year.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. It was conducted via telephone interviews between Oct. 12 and Oct. 24. The average age of those polled was 61.
Asked whether global warming or climate change will pose a serious threat in their lifetimes, 39% of respondents answered yes. The percentage has increased each year since 2016, when 25% said they expect to see serious problems from climate change.
Political figures
The poll showed sliding approval rates for the top political figures in the state — all Republicans — though approval percentages were at least close to results in polling done before the covid-19 pandemic.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson had an approval rating of 57% among all poll respondents, down from 69% a year earlier. In 2019, before the covid-19 pandemic, Hutchinson’s approval rating was 61%.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman's approval rating slipped to 37% from 50% a year earlier. In 2019, his approval rating was 39%.
The state's other senator, Tom Cotton, had an approval rating of 49%, down from 58% a year earlier. In 2019, Cotton's approval rating was 45%.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, received a 30% approval rating in his first year of the presidency, a number similar to poll results for the previous Democrat in the White House, Barack Obama.
“There are two things going on with public figure approval ratings this year,” Janine Parry, a UA professor of political science and the poll’s director, said in a statement.
“On the one hand, partisans get excited in election years, so approval of all three state-level figures was higher than normal in 2020. On the other hand, even with this year’s drop, Hutchinson in particular is faring well compared to most governors who are averaging about 10 points lower. Managing the COVID crisis as long as they have – particularly alongside hyperpartisan legislatures of both stripes – has taken a toll,” Parry said.