Election 2020 Polls: Biden Widens Lead Over Trump As US Coronavirus Cases Surge

A new poll released just two weeks before Election Day shows Democratic challenger Joe Biden holding a commanding lead over President Donald Trump as the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. continues to surge.

According to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll, Biden has an 11-point edge over Trump, the most significant margin that survey has recorded. Fifty-one percent of likely voters said they would vote for the former vice president, while 40% said they would re-elect Trump.

The poll, conducted Oct. 16-18, also asked registered voters who they think would do a better job of handling the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of respondents (52%) said they believe Biden would do better, while 33 percent gave the nod to Trump.

Many registered voters are expressing growing concerns about the president’s ability to lead the country amid the rising number of cases. More than 60% believe the coronavirus pandemic will worsen in the fall, while only 15% say they are optimistic it will improve.

On Friday, health officials reported nearly 70,000 new COVID-19 cases while hospitalization also increased in at least 39 states. Trump appeared in a campaign call on Monday, claiming Americans are tired of the virus.

“People are tired of COVID. I have these huge rallies. People are saying, ‘Whatever. Just leave us alone.’ They’re tired of it. People are tired of hearing Anthony Fauci and all these idiots,” Trump said.

The president may also be losing traction among white voters without college degrees while gathering momentum among college-educated white voters, Hispanic voters, and younger black voters.

According to FiveThirtyEight's national polling average, Trump lost ground with white voters by at least 7%. However, white men are looking more likely to back him by 20 points.

Trump has been making inroads with white voters who have college degrees -- a group he lost by more than 10 points in the 2016 election. He is also gaining more traction among likely voters between the ages of 18 and 44.

While Biden still leads among nonwhite voters, the president has earned a double-digit improvement with these groups. In 2016, 10 percent of young Black voters said they would support the president, but a recent UCLA Nationscape poll showed that numbers has increased to 21 percent this year.

The president is also attracting more than 35 percent of Hispanic voters aged 45 and below -- a 13%increase from 2016.