Chicago City Wire

Political analyst Scott Rasmussen says the idea that the government should be responsible for a business' losses if they ordered a business to shut down could be a far more popular plan than what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is offering. 

Rasmussen said groups like the Workplace Recovery Alliance, which is supporting passage of the Workplace Recovery Act, could be a benefit in getting the legislation passed.

Messaging could be an issue for Republicans in the election season, he suggested when he joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobsen on Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss the current state of the 2020 election.

Rasmussen is co-founder of ESPN and editor-at-large for Ballotpedia. He also produces the ScottRasmussen.com daily tracking poll.

Rasmussen touted the possible value of the Workplace Recovery Act, an idea that if the government forced a business to shut down, it should have to cover that business’ losses. That’s more popular than Pelosi’s plan, which, according to Rasmussen’s polling, gets support 2 to 1. The pollster said Republicans and President Trump need to craft that message and it needs to be consistent. 

According to Rasmussen’s polling of registered voters, Trump trails presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden by 10 points, although it’s a little closer when looking at likely voters.

“But I have absolutely no hesitation to say that if the election were held today, in addition to being shocked, the president would lose and control of the Republican Senate would be at risk,” Rasmussen said. “The good part that people have to understand when they hear that is the election is 17 weeks away.”

Rasmussen told Proft and Jacobsen that there’s nothing to lessen the impact of the messages coming from the Democratic candidates and representatives.

“What is lacking right now is a message from the president and from the Republican side to counter what people see," he said. "Look, the Democrats have (have) identified themselves as the party of government, and they have delivered a consistent message about turning more power over to government, having the governments set more rules. You may not like the message, but it is very consistent.” 

Currently, the six swing states are providing slightly better numbers for Trump than the national polling, but he wouldn’t win every swing state, Rasmussen said.

“If the election were held today, he would still lose some of those critical states and would not be re-elected," he said. "He does need to change the dynamics. Something has to change. Some of it will be on the ground somewhat. But what really happens if the economy comes back strong and the pandemic doesn't? That's good news for the president.”

There’s another group to pay attention to in the voting bloc, Rasmussen says. Seventeen percent of voters nationwide, one in six, really dislike the president but don’t like tearing down statues of George Washington. Those are the voters that Biden is courting and counting on because of who he is not. That group presents an opportunity for Trump, Rasmussen told Proft and Jacobsen.

“If the president can connect with some of those people, either shift a few of them to stay home or voting for a third party or maybe even a couple over, that can make a huge difference in this election,” Rasmussen said.

There’s another group of voters that people need to think about and reach out to, Rasmussen says, for Trump to better his chances at re-election. Those who voted for him in 2016 because he was “the lesser of two evils.”

“These are voters that need to be reached out to these are voters that the president's strongest supporters need to be building bridges to, rather than saying if you're not with us or against us and you know, that's going to come on a positive message," he said. "Some of it will come on the economy, some will come on cultural issues.” 

The concerns for voters are currently the economy, health care, civil rights, and law and order.  The first two are issues that have been the same for years, but if law and order were to overtake civil rights as a concern, that could change the outcome of the election, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen also notes that the GOP needs to formulate a positive message to not only unify its base, but to bring in the people who aren’t fans of Trump.

“The president needs to focus on that, delivering that positive message and forcing Biden to respond to it rather than just sort of letting the narrative flow along," he said.