New Florida Chamber Political Poll Shows a Divided Electorate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Megan Sweat, Media Relations Manager
msweat@flchamber.com
850.521.1258
New Florida Chamber Political Poll Shows a Divided Electorate
However, voters of all parties agree their top concerns are COVID-19, Jobs, and the Economy
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (October 2, 2020) – With 32 days to go before the 2020 General Election, the latest Florida Chamber statewide political poll shows likely Florida voters are evenly split with 45 percent saying Florida is heading in the right direction and 45 percent saying Florida is on the wrong track. Partisanship is clearly impacting responses with nearly 8 out of 10 Republicans saying Florida is heading in the right direction, while 7 out of 10 Democrats say Florida is on the wrong track.
“The 2020 General Election results will impact Florida’s future as we work to become the 10th most diverse economy in the world by 2030,” said Mark Wilson, President and CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce. “Our statewide poll helps give us a look at voters’ alignment to the competitiveness and pro-business agenda supported by the Florida Chamber.”
When asked which issues they would like to see the Governor & Florida Legislature address, unsurprisingly, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic takes the number one spot followed by jobs and the economy, supporting the police, healthcare, and education:
- COVID-19 Issues 29%
- Jobs/Economy 15%
- Support the Police 8%
- Healthcare 8%
- Education 7%
Before COVID-19, Florida was the 17th largest economy in the world (if Florida were a country), we created 1 out of 11 new U.S. jobs since 2015, we were the third largest state in the country and growing by 900 people a day. Since coronavirus, Florida has 546,500 less jobs, we expect a drop of $5.4 billion in tax revenues over the next two fiscal years, and our economy was put into a recession to protect the health of Floridians. So, it’s no doubt why likely voters say jobs and the economy is their number one issue after COVID-19.
Further, the race for the White House leads directly through Florida. Florida voters have selected the winner in 11 out of the last 12 presidential elections. Florida is the largest swing state by population and both Democrats and Republicans will be fighting hard over the next 32 days for its 29 electoral votes. When asked if the election were held today, for whom would you vote, former Vice President Joe Biden leads by 5 percent over President Donald Trump.
In the November General Election, Florida will decide on six constitutional amendments. Amendment 2, the nation’s first $15 state minimum wage mandate is receiving 66 percent support based on the amendment’s title. However, once voters are informed the amendment would raise prices for seniors on a fixed income, eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs, force business to move to neighboring states for experienced labor at a more competitive rate, and cost taxpayers more than $700 million in lost revenue, the support for Amendment 2 drops to only 39 percent. The Florida Chamber opposes this amendment.
Amendment 3, the “All Voters Vote” amendment, would move Florida to a jungle primary, similar to California, where all candidates for Governor and State Legislature would be on the ballot at the same time and the top two candidates move onto the General Election. Amendment 3 is supported by 61 percent of voters, hovering just over the 60 percent threshold for passage. The Florida Chamber opposes this amendment.
Amendment 4, “Voter Approval of Constitutional Amendments” measure would require proposed amendments to the constitution be approved by voters in two consecutive elections, is supported by 61 percent of voters, barely enough for passage. The Florida Chamber supports this amendment.
Additional findings from the Florida Chamber’s latest statewide poll shows:
Do you approve or disapprove of the movement to defund the police?
20% approve
72% disapprove
How do you plan to vote in the 2020 General Election?
28% Election Day
33% Early
33% By Mail
Florida Hits 14 Million Registered Voters: When it comes to voter registration, the latest data shows Florida has crossed the 14 million voter point, gaining more than 1.5 million new voters from the same point four years ago. Since 2016, state voter registration data shows that Republicans have narrowed the registration gap by 90,813 voters and NPA/other registration has increased by 554,795 voters.
Florida’s Vote-by-Mail System: Vote-by-Mail statistics show more Florida voters than ever before are choosing to request VBM ballots rather than voting early or on Election Day. For the first time in Florida history, a majority of ballots were cast by mail in the Primary Election. More than 5.3 million Floridians have requested a VBM ballot and 341,877 votes have already been cast.
Democratic – 184,552 (53.98%)
Republican – 93,212 (27.26%)
NPA/Other – 64,113 (18.75%)
Total Votes Cast – 341,877
Polling Methodology: The Florida Chamber of Commerce political poll was conducted on September 23-29, 2020 by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 247 Democrats, 242 Republicans and 115 Others for a total of 604 likely voters statewide.
Florida Chamber Political Institute: This election, FCPI interviewed 91 candidates for the state legislature, conducting over 45 hours of interviews virtually.
Florida Institute for Political Leadership: So far in 2020, FIPL has conducted 6 virtual trainings, educating over 220 individuals, to help recruit and train better candidates across the State of Florida.
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Established in 1916 as Florida’s first statewide business advocacy organization, the Florida Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business and the state’s largest federation of employers, chambers of commerce and associations aggressively representing small and large businesses from every industry and every region. The Florida Chamber works within all branches of government to affect those changes set forth in the annual Florida Business Agenda, and which are seen as critical to secure Florida’s future. The Florida Chamber works closely with its Florida Political Operations and the Florida Chamber Foundation. Visit www.FloridaChamber.com for more information.