TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Days away from the November midterm, political polling by Florida State University forecasts Republican wins for both the governor and U.S. Senate races. The poll, conducted by the Institute of Politics at FSU and YouGov said “Florida voters appear ready to re-elect Republican incumbents.”
According to FSU polling data, “if the election were held today, 53% of respondents indicate they would cast their ballot for Governor DeSantis over his challenger, Democratic Congressman and former Governor Charlie Crist, supported by 43% of survey participants.”
The edge in the political push was also in favor of Republicans for the senate race. FSU reported that “Rubio leads Congresswoman Val Demings by seven percentage points, 51% to 44%.”
The polling data said white voters were “central to DeSantis’ electoral coalition,” while Hispanic voters were more divided. The partisan divisions were also described as “sharp,” with less than 5% of “self-identified partisans saying they plan to vote for the candidate from the opposing party.”
Among independent voters, FSU said DeSantis had a “comfortable lead” as well as “dominating” Crist when it comes to voters who are older or did not have an education beyond a high school diploma.
However, the IOP@FSU poll reported that Crist was more popular among college graduates and voters younger than 45.
“Florida is an important bellwether state. The results from the IOP@FSU poll show favorable winds for Republican candidates…” said Dr. Hans Hassel, IOP@FSU Director and Associate Professor of Political Science at FSU. “The IOP poll shows that voters consistently view Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in a positive light and appear poised to re-elect him to another term in office.”
Issues with President Joe Biden’s performance in office, Florida’s economy, abortion rights and access, and handling of post-Hurricane Ian recovery efforts were all factors contributing to respondents’ attitudes, according to the survey results.
