August 19, 2020: Fifty-three percent (53%) of voters nationwide are at least somewhat confident that public health officials understand the coronavirus and what policies are needed to overcome it. A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 46% lack confidence in the officials.[1]

Those figures reflect growing confidence in public health officials over the past couple of months. In June, just 45% had even a modest level of confidence in the public health officials.[1] The eight-point improvement came exclusively from Democrats and Independent voters.[1]

• In June, 49% of Republican voters expressed confidence in the public health officials. That figure is unchanged in the latest survey.

• Confidence among Democrats increased 12 points, from 49% in June to 61% today.

• Among Independents, there was a 13-point gain, from 35% in June to 48% today.[1]

Overall, the current numbers show that 16% of voters are very confident in the public health officials, while 15% are not at all confident.[1]

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

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