New Florida Chamber Statewide Poll Shows Strong Confidence in Local Business and Governor Ron DeSantis Strongly Positioned for 2022
COVID-19, Job Creation, and the Economy are Most Important Issues to Florida Voters
The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll shows likely Florida voters overwhelmingly support Governor Ron DeSantis with a strong job approval rating of 54%, receiving 87% support from Republicans and 52% from NPA’s.
“COVID-19, job creation, and the economy are the leading issues Florida voters care about,” said Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson. “Thanks to the leadership and swift action taken by Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, COVID-19 liability protections were signed into law, allowing Florida’s economy to remain open and jump to the 15th largest economy in the world – and voters clearly appreciate a Governor who does the right things.”
The Chamber’s statewide poll shows nearly all Florida voters support Florida’s local businesses, with 92% of those polled expressing confidence. The actions of Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature led to an economy that bounced back quickly from the initial COVID-19 pandemic, allowing local businesses to keep Floridians employed, grow and diversify Florida’s economy, and serve their communities with over 800 new residents moving to Florida each day.
Florida Voter Registration Update – Republicans Will Soon Be In The Lead
When looking ahead to 2022, new analysis shows Florida has almost 14.5 million registered voters. Democrats lead over Republicans has fallen to only 62,602 registered voters, the lowest gap in modern history. For the first half of 2021, new NPA registrations have outpaced voter registrations for either major party.
“As the Florida Chamber’s political team monitors political trends across Florida, the trends in voter registration clearly show Republicans steadily gaining ground over Democrats across Florida each month,” said A. Duda and Sons, Inc. Senior Vice President, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer, and Florida Chamber Political Council Chair Tracy Duda Chapman. “Their analyses shows these trends put Florida just months away from Republicans having a voter registration lead for the first-time in Florida history.”
Gubernatorial Head-to-Head
The Florida Chamber poll also found that Governor DeSantis is in a strong position heading towards 2022. He holds a solid lead over both potential Democratic challengers heading towards his re-election campaign.
Governor DeSantis enjoys an 8% lead over former Governor Charlie Crist, benefiting from 85% support from Republicans and 50% support from NPA’s. DeSantis leads Crist among NPA’s by 8%.
Governor DeSantis also enjoys a 9% lead over Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, benefiting from 85% support from Republicans and 49% support from NPA’s. DeSantis leads Fried among NPA’s by 10%.
The Florida Chamber Movements Heading into 2022 and Redistricting
To continue this movement into 2022, the Florida Chamber has 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 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 July 26 – August 4, 2021 by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters, and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 236 Democrats, 248 Republicans and 126 Others for a total of 610 respondents statewide.
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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.