Researchers at the University of South °®¶ą´«Ă˝ 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’s election for governor will be “very important” in “shaping °®¶ą´«Ă˝â€™s future”.
- Another 15% say that it will be at least “somewhat important”.
- When asked to identify the issues that will have the most impact on how they vote, more than half (52%) said “inflation”.
- Nearly three quarters (73%) said that “pocketbook issues” are more important to them than “social values issues” heading into the election.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ approval ratings among Floridians:
- A majority of Floridians (57%) say that they either “strongly” or “somewhat approve” 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’s 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’s approval ratings:
- Among Floridians, 40% say that they approve of the job that Biden is doing on “jobs and the economy”.
- Meanwhile, 35% approve of the job that he is doing in the area of “foreign policy”.
- In contrast, only 25% approve of the president’s handling of recent inflation, while 69% disapprove.
- A third (33%) approve of the president’s handling of “immigration and border security”, 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 “yes”, while 66% said “no”.
- Similarly, only 28% said that Donald Trump should run for a second term as president in 2024, while 64% said “no”.
- When asked if they feel that DeSantis should run for president in 2024, Floridians were more divided; 43% said “yes”, while 46% said “no”.
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 “moderate” voters.
Confidence in the ability of Democrats and Republicans to work together:
- Nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents said that they were either “not very” or “not at all confident” in the ability of Democratic and Republican leaders in °®¶ą´«Ă˝ to work together in the state’s 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’s best interest.
Level of optimism about the future:
- When asked about America’s future, a majority of respondents (57%) said that they worry that the country’s best days may be behind us.
- Only 27% expressed confidence that America’s best days are still to come.
- Only 46% felt that Democratic Party leaders “are optimistic when they talk about America’s future”.
- Only 41% said the same of Republicans.
Support for a more moderate “third party”:
- 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.