New Florida Chamber Statewide Poll Shows Voters Believe Florida Heading in the Right Direction While America on Wrong Track
COVID-19 Issues and the Economy Top Floridians’ Policy Priorities
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (January 13, 2022) – The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll shows a majority (50:41) of likely Florida voters believe Florida is headed in the right direction, while at the same time nearly three-quarters of voters believe the country is on the wrong track.
Only three of Florida’s ten media markets believe Florida is on the wrong track: Tallahassee (29:65), West Palm (47:50) and Miami-Fort Lauderdale (41:46).
“As I shared recently at our Legislative Fly-In, if Florida was a stock I would buy as much as I can afford,” said Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson. “As we enter an important election year for keeping Florida, Florida, there’s no better time to unite the business community for good to ensure the right things continue to happen.”
Moreover, to continue the recovery of Florida’s tourism industry, Floridians strongly approve of the continued efforts of VISIT Florida by a nearly 2 to 1 margin. Support for VISIT Florida crosses party lines, with a majority of Republicans, Democrats, and NPAs in agreement. The question asked:
“Do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove or strongly disapprove of the State of Florida using your tax dollars to advertise in other states to encourage people to visit Florida for tourism?”
Approve of VISIT Florida Funding Disapprove of VISIT Florida Funding
Overall 64% 30%
Democrats 57% 38%
NPA/Others 64% 30%
Republicans 73% 22%
Florida Voter Registration Update
When looking ahead to the 2022 election, latest analysis shows for the first time in Florida history, Florida has almost 14.3 million registered voters and Republicans now have more registered voters than Democrats for the first time in Florida’s rich history. Currently, there are nearly 25,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats (Republicans – 5,119,824, Democrats – 5,095,089, and NPA/Others – 4,069,061). Also, in 2021, new NPA registrations outpaced voter registrations for either major party.
“With all 160 members of the Florida Legislature up for election in 2022, this year’s election is pivotal to the business community. The Florida Chamber is actively recruiting and interviewing pro-jobs candidates who want to keep Florida’s economic momentum moving forward. The Governor and Cabinet are also on the ballot and we expect to continue being very supportive of the candidates that support free enterprise,” said A. Duda & Sons, Inc. Senior Vice President, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer, and Florida Chamber Political Council Chair Tracy Duda Chapman.
Florida Likely Voters Believe:
Top Issues Facing Florida
- COVID-19 Issues
- Jobs and the Economy
- Healthcare
- Female Voters Top Issue is COVID-19
- Male Voters Top Issue is Jobs & the Economy
- Republicans Top Issue is Jobs & the Economy
- Democrats Top Issue is COVID-19
- NPA’s Top Issue is Jobs & the Economy
Florida Right Direction/Wrong Track is 50:41
- Male Voters say Florida is heading in the right direction by 55:36 while Female voters are split on the direction of Florida 45:46.
- By a 14% margin, Hispanic voters believe Florida is heading in the right direction.
Gubernatorial Head-to-Head
The Florida Chamber poll also found that Governor Ron DeSantis is in a strong position. He holds a double-digit lead over all potential Democratic challengers heading into his re-election campaign.
Governor DeSantis enjoys a 12% lead over former Governor Charlie Crist, benefiting from 89% support from Republicans and 49% support from NPAs. DeSantis leads Crist among NPA’s by 16%.
Governor DeSantis also enjoys a 12% lead over Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, benefiting from 90% support from Republicans and 46% support from NPAs. DeSantis leads Fried among NPA’s by 7%.
Governor DeSantis enjoys a 16% lead over State Senator Annette Taddeo, benefiting from 91% support from Republicans and 50% support from NPAs. DeSantis leads Taddeo among NPA’s by 16%
Views on Socialism & Capitalism
Our new statewide issue poll shows Floridians strongly recognize that economic prosperity for their families and for others stems from the strong free enterprise solutions of capitalism. When asked whether capitalism or socialism was more likely to produce a society where everyone has an equal opportunity for success, 63% of Floridians responded that capitalism better provides them this opportunity versus just 23% who thought socialism would better provide this outcome.
- More Democrats have a favorable view of socialism than an unfavorable view by 43:34.
- 59% of voters in the Tallahassee media market have a favorable view of socialism compared to only 36% who view it unfavorably.
- When asked which is better, socialism or capitalism, for voters under 40, only 36% select capitalism while 47% say capitalism and socialism are about the same.
- Overall, almost two thirds of Florida voters believe capitalism is the better system to allow people to realize the American dream to find a good paying job to support a family by a 69:17 margin.
- Moreover, by a 3-to-1 margin, voters believe capitalism is more likely to allow people to have a good quality of life (62:22)
- Lastly, more than 6 out of 10 voters believe capitalism is the best system for a society where everyone has an equal opportunity for success by a 63:23 margin.
Florida Chamber Initiatives Heading into the 2022 Elections and Redistricting
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 voter poll was conducted December 31, 2021 through January 10, 2022 by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters, and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 240 Democrats, 245 Republicans and 120 Others for a total of 605 respondents statewide.
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