Polls

Crist in good position to reclaim governorship

| Tom Jensen

Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C.–
Florida voters are generally favorable to the idea of former Republican Governor Charlie Crist completing his partisan transformation and becoming a Democrat. And despite an unimpressive even favorability rating at 41%, Crist benefits from voters’ deep dissatisfaction with Governor Rick Scott in order to lead his successor in a potential 2014 matchup 44% to 41%.

In this hypothetical race, the theoretically newly minted Democrat would enjoy at least as much support from his own party as Scott would from his own. This is enough for Crist to overcome Scott’s slight edge among independents, 43% to 40%. That figure represents a large shift towards Scott among independents. When PPP last polled Florida in June, Scott was tested in a horserace against state Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich, who, despite garnering only 14% name recognition, defeated Scott by 12 points, including a 14-point advantage among independents.

This new independent lean towards Scott has given some buoyancy to his numbers, which were decidedly underwater in June. In that survey, independents disapproved of Scott by a 34-point margin, contributing to his overall rating of -25. This time around, with independents more on his side, however, his job rating has risen to -12, at 39% to 51%.

“These are some of the best poll numbers we’ve found for Rick Scott since he took office,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Republicans are starting to unify around him more, and he’s seen improvement with independents as well.”

LeBron James’ first championship ring has done nothing to improve his standing with Floridians, as his 32% to 19% favorability rating has remained completely unchanged over the last two months. In the same vein, 32% of respondents expressed good feelings about the Heat’s championship, beating out those unhappy at 9%, but running substantially behind “don’t care” at 59%. Chick-fil-A would have nothing to fear at the ballot box in Florida, enjoying a 34-point favorable margin.

PPP surveyed 871 Florida voters from July 26th to 29th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.3%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Rick Scott’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .39%
Disapprove…………. .51%
Not sure …………….. .11%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Charlie Crist?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 41%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%

Q3 Do you think Charlie Crist should become a
Democrat, or not?
He should……………………………………………….. 42%
He should not………………………………………….. 27%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 31%

Q4 If the candidates for Governor next time were
Republican Rick Scott and Charlie Crist,
running as a Democrat, who would you vote
for?
Rick Scott……………………………………………….. 41%
Charlie Crist ……………………………………………. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%

Q5 If there was an election for Congress today,
would you vote Democratic or Republican?
Democratic……………………………………………… 45%
Republican……………………………………………… 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Chick-fil-A?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 54%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 20%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jennifer Carroll?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 14%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 73%

Q8 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Pam Bondi?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 28%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 19%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 53%

Q9 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jeff Atwater?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 13%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 72%

Q10 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Adam Putnam?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 13%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 12%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 75%

Q11 Are you happy or unhappy that the Miami Heat
won the NBA title, or do you not care?
Happy ……………………………………………………. 32%
Unhappy ………………………………………………… 9%
Don’t care ………………………………………………. 59%

Q12 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of LeBron James?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 32%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 19%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 49%

Q13 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 10%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 17%
Moderate………………………………………………… 33%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 20%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 20%

Q14 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 55%
Man……………………………………………………….. 45%

Q15 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 42%
Republican……………………………………………… 40%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 19%

Q16 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 15%
White …………………………………………………….. 69%
African-American …………………………………….. 11%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%

Q17 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 14%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 32%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 28%

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