Fox News Poll: McCormick tops Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania GOP senate primary poll

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Former hedge fund CEO David McCormick has a clear advantage in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate, including besting television celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz — although many primary voters remain undecided.

A Fox News survey of Pennsylvania GOP primary voters finds McCormick tops Oz by 9 points (24%-15%). Others receive support in the single digits, including Kathy Barnette and Jeff Bartos (9% each), and Carla Sands (6%). CONTINUED

Dana Blanton, Fox News

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Fox News Poll: Gibbons and Mandel lead Ohio GOP Senate primary

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Businessman Mike Gibbons and former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel lead the pack among Ohio Republican primary voters in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Rob Portman.

Gibbons (22%) and Mandel (20%) each receive about one-fifth of the vote in a Fox News survey of Ohio voters who plan to participate in the May 3 GOP primary. The next tier includes author J.D. Vance (11%), former Ohio GOP chair Jane Timken (9%), and Ohio State Sen. Matt Dolan (7%). CONTINUED

Dana Blanton, Fox News

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WSJ Poll: 79% of Americans Back Ban on Russian Oil Even if Energy Prices Rise

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A wide majority of Americans, 79%, said they favored a ban on Russian oil imports even if the prohibition increased energy prices in the U.S., according to data from a new Wall Street Journal poll. Just 13% said they opposed it. …

The Journal poll surveyed 529 registered voters from March 4-7 on this question: “Would you favor or oppose the U.S. imposing new sanctions on Russia by banning the sale of Russian oil to the U.S., even if you knew it would cause U.S. energy prices to increase?” CONTINUED

Michael C. Bender, Wall Street Journal

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The U.S. has four political parties stuffed into a two-party system. That’s a big problem.

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The United States right now has four political parties stuffed into a two-party system — and that’s increasingly a big problem for the country.

This reality becomes clear if you set aside the long-standing catchall labels “Democrat” and “Republican” and look at the fissures actually animating our politics. Importantly, by “party” I’m referring to an informal group of elected officials, intellectuals and institutions with a shared ideology and policy positions. Rank-and-file voters do play some role in shaping the views of these parties, but I think the process is largely driven by political professionals. CONTINUED

Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post

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Why independents have cooled on Biden — and what that means for Democrats

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President Joe Biden is facing historically low approval ratings among independents, a trend that threatens Democrats in November’s midterm elections if he can’t reverse it by then.

Although the number of truly independent swing voters has declined over the past half century, they can still provide the margin between electoral victory and defeat at a time when the two party coalitions are so closely balanced. And after moving toward Democrats in the 2018 and 2020 elections largely because of their distaste for Donald Trump, independents are now giving Biden job ratings in both state and national polls nearly as low as they ever provided Trump. CONTINUED

Ronald Brownstein, CNN

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Pandemic Outlook in U.S. Drastically Improved

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Two years after COVID-19 first forced widespread closures in the U.S., Americans are more optimistic about the trajectory of the pandemic than they have been since last June before the delta and omicron variants of the virus swept through the country. As COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline, Americans’ concern about contracting the disease has dropped precipitously.

Still, 55% of U.S. adults are worried about future variants, and two-thirds expect the pandemic will persist through the end of 2022 or beyond. With many Americans unvaccinated, half of the public is worried about those choosing not to get vaccinated. CONTINUED

Megan Brenan, Gallup

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