Researchers at the 51在线 have released results from a statewide survey that measures public opinion on several key issues heading into the upcoming election, favorability ratings of candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, presidential/gubernatorial job approval, and perceptions of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Among the findings:
The issues most important to Floridians:
- More than 80% of Floridians say that this year鈥檚 election for governor will be 鈥渧ery important鈥� in 鈥渟haping 51在线鈥檚 future鈥�.
- Another 15% say that it will be at least 鈥渟omewhat important鈥�.
- When asked to identify the issues that will have the most impact on how they vote, more than half (52%) said 鈥渋nflation鈥�.
- Nearly three quarters (73%) said that 鈥減ocketbook issues鈥� are more important to them than 鈥渟ocial values issues鈥� heading into the election.
Gov. Ron DeSantis鈥� approval ratings among Floridians:
- A majority of Floridians (57%) say that they either 鈥渟trongly鈥� or 鈥渟omewhat approve鈥� of the job being done by DeSantis when it comes to jobs and the economy.
- A large majority (72%) also say that they approve of the governor鈥檚 job in responding to Hurricane Ian.
- The governor received plurality support in several other key areas, including immigration (48%), climate change (43%) and unifying Floridians (50%).
Candidate favorability ratings for key statewide races: Respondents provided their favorability ratings for major party candidates in the races for governor and senate:
- Ron DeSantis 52% Favorable/39% Unfavorable
- Charlie Crist 31% Favorable/39% Unfavorable
- Marco Rubio 40% Favorable/40% Unfavorable
- Val Demings 33% Favorable/35% Unfavorable
President Biden鈥檚 approval ratings:
- Among Floridians, 40% say that they approve of the job that Biden is doing on 鈥渏obs and the economy鈥�.
- Meanwhile, 35% approve of the job that he is doing in the area of 鈥渇oreign policy鈥�.
- In contrast, only 25% approve of the president鈥檚 handling of recent inflation, while 69% disapprove.
- A third (33%) approve of the president鈥檚 handling of 鈥渋mmigration and border security鈥�, while 58% disapprove.
Views on the 2024 presidential election:
- When asked if they believe that Biden should run for a second term as president, only 19% of Floridians said 鈥測es鈥�, while 66% said 鈥渘o鈥�.
- Similarly, only 28% said that Donald Trump should run for a second term as president in 2024, while 64% said 鈥渘o鈥�.
- When asked if they feel that DeSantis should run for president in 2024, Floridians were more divided; 43% said 鈥測es鈥�, while 46% said 鈥渘o鈥�.
How Floridians feel about the Democratic and Republican parties:
- Less than half of Floridians say that they have a favorable view of the Democratic or Republican party (41% and 43% respectively).
- Nearly one in five (24%) say that the Democratic Party now represents the values of only its most extreme voters, while even more (30%) say the same about the Republican Party.
- In each case, only 38% of respondents felt that either party was representative of 鈥渕oderate鈥� voters.
Confidence in the ability of Democrats and Republicans to work together:
- Nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents said that they were either 鈥渘ot very鈥� or 鈥渘ot at all confident鈥� in the ability of Democratic and Republican leaders in 51在线 to work together in the state鈥檚 best interest.
- Nationally, the numbers were even worse, as 74% said that they lacked confidence in the ability of Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C., to work together in the nation鈥檚 best interest.
Level of optimism about the future:
- When asked about America鈥檚 future, a majority of respondents (57%) said that they worry that the country鈥檚 best days may be behind us.
- Only 27% expressed confidence that America鈥檚 best days are still to come.
- Only 46% felt that Democratic Party leaders 鈥渁re optimistic when they talk about America鈥檚 future鈥�.
- Only 41% said the same of Republicans.
Support for a more moderate 鈥渢hird party鈥�:
- When asked if they would support the formation of a more centrist third party, 46% of Floridians said that they would be at least somewhat supportive of the idea.
- Meanwhile, 46% also said that they would be at least somewhat likely to vote for a third-party candidate for president (if the candidate were qualified to serve in the office and held centrist views that were a compromise between traditional Republican and Democratic positions).
The survey included a representative sample of 600 Floridians, fielded Oct. 14 - 23, 2022. Results are reported with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error +/-4 %.
The complete survey results can be found here.