New Florida Chamber Statewide Poll Shows Property Insurance, Illegal Immigration, Education and Job Creation & the Economy as Top Concerns of Florida Voters
Poll Also Shows Recreational Marijuana Amendment Continues to Fall Short of 60% Requirement for Passage
The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll finds the top issue among female voters, Democrat voters and NPA voters is education. The top issue among male voters is property insurance, and the top issue among Republicans is illegal immigration.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis Remains More Popular than President Joe Biden, Particularly with Hispanics
The Florida Chamber poll shows half (50%) of Florida voters view Governor Ron DeSantis favorably. A majority (52%) of Florida Hispanics view Governor DeSantis favorably as well as 86% of Florida Republicans.
Almost 6 out of 10 (59%) of Florida voters have an unfavorable view of President Joe Biden. Almost all (91%) of Republicans have an unfavorable view of President Biden, while 58% of NPAs and 67% of Hispanics have an unfavorable view of the President.
Even within President Biden’s own party, 26% of Democrats have an unfavorable opinion of him.
The Florida Chamber poll finds two-thirds (66%) of Florida voters believe President Joe Biden does not deserve re-election, with strong opposition from Florida Hispanics a key factor in this finding. Nearly three-fourths (73%) of Hispanic voters polled believe President Biden does not deserve re-election, higher than any other demographic group tested.
By party, opposition to President Biden’s re-election is unsurprisingly strongest among Republicans with nearly all (93%) opposing his re-election. Furthering President Biden’s troubles, 71% of NPAs and even 35% of Democrats do not believe President Biden deserves to be re-elected President.
Recreational Marijuana Legalization Continues to Be Short of the 60% Requirement
The Florida Chamber poll also found fewer than 6 out of 10 (57%) of Florida voters support legalizing recreational marijuana. In addition to currently failing to meet the 60% threshold required for passage, the Florida Chamber finds voters less likely to support the amendment as they find about its impact on children and businesses.
Supporters of the amendment have surpassed the signature requirement to gain access to the ballot however the amendment has not yet been approved or rejected for the ballot by the Florida Supreme Court. Last fall, the Florida Supreme Court heard arguments for and against why the amendment should be on the ballot but has yet to rule on the proposed amendment’s ballot language and must do so by April 1st in order for the amendment to make the 2024 general election ballot.
“With 144 amendments since its creation in 1968, Florida’s constitution has long been a target of special interest groups with agendas and recreational marijuana is no different,” said Florida Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Mark Wilson. “The Florida Chamber continues to lead the fight it has fought for over 100 years against similar proposed amendments that could be addressed legislatively rather than through altering Florida’s foundational document.”
Republicans Continue to Dominate Voter Registration in Florida
Republicans continued to expand their registration lead over Democrats. The Republican voter registration lead across Florida now stands at almost 700,000 even though Democrats held an outright voter registration advantage as recently as October 2021.
“As Florida adds more than 1,000 net new residents every day, our economics, our demographics and as we see, our politics are all continuing to change,” said Florida Chamber Executive Vice President of Government and Political Relations Frank Walker. “Florida’s political landscape has changed dramatically in just the last couple of years and will continue to do so as we approach the 2024 election.”
As of the most recent Florida update, Republicans hold a statewide advantage of 698,852 voters a lead of more than 5% over Democrats amongst all voters, 5,159,681 Republicans to 4,460,829 Democrats, with NPA and other party registrants comprising almost 30% of all active voters at 3,921,123. The Republican registration advantage continues to grow by more than 20,000 voters per month.
Florida Chamber Voter Education and Recruiting Initiatives
With all 120 House seats and half of Florida Senate seats on the 2024 ballot, the Florida Chamber leads the business community’s efforts to recruit and elect better candidates through the Florida Free Enterprise Fund, Florida Chamber Political Institute and the Florida Institute for Political Leadership. For more information about these initiatives, contact the Florida Chamber’s Executive Vice President of Government & Political Relations Frank Walker at fwalker@flchamber.com.
ABOUT THIS POLL: The Florida Chamber of Commerce political poll was conducted on December 27, 2023 – January 4, 2024 by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 237 Democrats, 256 Republicans and 107 Others for a total of 600 respondents statewide.