New Florida Chamber Statewide Poll Shows Ron DeSantis Holding Solid Lead over Both Democratic Challengers
Inflation/Gas Prices Joins Jobs and the Economy and Education as Top Policy Priorities for Florida Voters
The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll shows nearly half of likely Florida voters believe Florida is headed in the right direction (49:45), while at the same time a majority of voters, more than 7 out of 10, believe the country is on the wrong track.
In addition, voters in seven of Florida’s 10 media markets believe Florida is headed in the right direction, with only three believing otherwise: Miami-Fort Lauderdale (43:48), Tallahassee (30:60) and West Palm Beach (43:51).
“Every month The Florida Chamber Political Operations team closely analyzes ChamberHub, the Florida Chamber’s exclusive voter file, to understand trends in Florida’s electorate,” said Florida Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Mark Wilson. “This new poll shows likely Florida voters are more confident in Florida than in the nation at this point of the election cycle, further stressing the importance of electing pro-jobs candidates to ensure the right things keep happening in Florida as we grow from the 15th to the 10th largest global economy by 2030.”
Vital Issues Heading into the November General Election
Inflation and food prices are a top concern for Florida voters with 67% saying it is a major issue heading into the November election. There is a partisan lens where 79% of Republicans and 70% of NPAs call the issue critically important while only 53% of Democrats feel the same way. More than three fourths of Hispanic voters, which makes up nearly 18% of Florida’s registered voters, also believe inflation and food prices are a top concern heading into November.
Gas prices are a major concern for Florida voters with almost 6 out of 10 Florida voters believing it’s a critically important issue before the November General election. Again, Republicans (72%) and NPAs (56%) see the issues as critically important, but Democrats (42%) see it as a less important issue.
Job Approval Numbers
The Florida Chamber poll also found that Governor Ron DeSantis has high job approval numbers, while President Joe Biden’s job approval numbers have plummeted.
More than half of voters (54%) approve of the job Ron DeSantis is doing as Governor, with 88% of Republicans and 52% of NPAs approving of his job as Governor. The Governor has an overwhelming approval amongst Hispanic voters with 65% approving of his performance and only 32% disapproving.
Joe Biden’s numbers are quite the opposite, with almost 6 out of 10 voters disapproving of the job he is doing as President. Almost all Republicans (90%) and 62% of NPAs disapprove of President Biden’s performance as President. The President has an approval rating of only 34% among Hispanic voters, with 64% disapproving of his performance.
Gubernatorial Head-to-Head
The Florida Chamber poll also found that Governor Ron DeSantis is in a strong position. He holds a solid lead over all potential Democratic challengers heading into his re-election campaign.
Governor DeSantis enjoys an 8% lead (51%-43%) over former Governor Charlie Crist, benefiting from 87% support from Republicans and 48% support from NPAs (Crist earns 43% support from NPAs).
Governor DeSantis also enjoys a 7% lead (50%-43%) over Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, benefiting from 87% support from Republicans and 48% support from NPAs (Fried earns 38% support from NPAs).
Against both potential Democratic challengers, Governor DeSantis leads in eight of Florida’s ten media markets.
Are We in a Recession?
The Florida Chamber poll also found that more than 6 out of 10 (64%) of Florida likely voters believe we are currently in a recession. An overwhelming majority of Republicans (82%) and NPAs (70%) believe the economy is in trouble while a majority of Democrats (55%) believe we are not in a recession. Meanwhile, the Florida Chamber Chief Economist, Dr. Ben Tabatabaei has determined the U.S. is officially facing a recession, but Florida’s economy continues to grow.
While voters believe Florida is heading in the right direction, the headwinds out of Washington should serve as a warning sign to Democrats on the ballot this November.
Florida Voter Registration Update
Republicans continued to expand their registration lead over Democrats. As of the most recent Florida update, Republicans hold a statewide advantage of 228,954 voters over Democrats among active registered voters, 5,191,018 Republicans to 4,962,064 Democrats, with NPA and other party registrants comprising 29% of all active voters at 4,162,673. The 2022 Florida primary will be the first statewide election in Florida’s history conducted where there are more Republicans registered to vote than Democrats, and the Republican registration advantage continues to grow by roughly 20,000 voters per month.
Since the 2020 election, voter data from ChamberHub, the Florida Chamber’s exclusive voter file, also shows:
- Democrat’s share of active registered voters has declined in every county in Florida
- Republican share of active registration has increased in 56 of 67 counties
- NPA registration share has increased in all of Florida’s 67 counties
Florida Chamber Voter Education and Recruiting Initiatives Heading into the 2022 Elections
The Florida Chamber leads initiatives such as the Florida Free Enterprise Fund, Florida Chamber Political Institute and the Florida Institute for Political Leadership, which all work to ensure we’re recruiting better candidates for Florida and helping them get elected. For more information about these initiatives, contact the Florida Chamber’s Vice President of Political Operations Nicholas Catroppo at ncatroppo@flchamber.com.
ABOUT THIS POLL: The Florida Chamber of Commerce political poll was conducted on August 4 – 15, 2022 by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 238 Democrats, 259 Republicans and 111 Others for a total of 608 respondents statewide.
# # #