Raleigh, N.C. – If there is anywhere Paul Ryan’s Medicare proposal should be met with death stares, it is in Florida’s retirement communities. Indeed, 40% of the entire state opposes his plan, with only 24% supporting it. 37% of the seniormost voters are against it, but the largest age bloc in opposition is the youngest. 50% of those 18 to 29 years old oppose, and only 15% support it. These are the voters the plan would most affect, as the value of the vouchers over the next 40 to 50 years would cover less and less of the cost of private insurance.
Unfortunately for progressives, the state’s voters are even more opposed to same-sex marriage, with 53% thinking it should remain illegal and 37% wanting it to be legal. About half of voters under the age of 45 support it, indicating that it is only a matter of a decade or two before public sentiment is clearly behind marriage equality. As it is now, two-thirds of the state supports gay couples having the equal legal rights associated with marriage. A third support full marriage and another 34% favor civil unions, while only 31% oppose all legal recognition of these relationships.
Florida is certainly a football state. Of the nine major professional sports teams in the state, the three most popular, with about equal numbers of fans, are all in the NFL. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, and Jacksonville Jaguars each claim 16-17% of the state’s pro sports aficionados, followed by the recently defeated Miami Heat at 14%, their NBA Southeast division rival Orlando Magic and MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays each at 11%, the Florida Marlins at 10%, and finally the two NHL franchises, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, way back at 4% and 2%, respectively.
Of the major Division I college football programs, the clear darling is the University of Florida at 30%, followed by Florida State (19%), Central Florida (11%), Miami (9%), South Florida (6%), Florida Atlantic (5%), and Florida International (1%). 18% say they are not sure.
PPP surveyed 848 Florida voters from June 16th to 19th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you support or oppose Paul Ryan’s
proposal for reforming Medicare?
Support ………………………………………………….. 24%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 40%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 36%
Q2 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 37%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 53%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%
Q3 Which of the following best describes your
opinion on gay marriage: gay couples should
be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples
should be allowed to form civil unions but not
legally marry, or there should be no legal
recognition of a gay couple’s relationship?
Gay couples should be allowed to legally
marry ……………………………………………………..33%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry …………………………………34%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………31%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 1%
Q4 If there was an election for the US House
today, would you vote for the Democratic or
Republican candidate from your district?
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 45%
Republican……………………………………………… 40%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of LeBron James?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 22%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 24%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 54%
Q6 Is your favorite pro sports team in Florida the
Florida Marlins, Florida Panthers, Jacksonville
Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, Orlando
Magic, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay
Lightning, or Tampa Bay Rays?
Marlins …………………………………………………… 10%
Panthers ………………………………………………… 2%
Jaguars………………………………………………….. 16%
Dolphins…………………………………………………. 16%
Heat ………………………………………………………. 14%
Magic …………………………………………………….. 11%
Buccaneers…………………………………………….. 17%
Lightning ………………………………………………… 4%
Rays ……………………………………………………… 11%
Someone else/Don’t have a favorite team …… 0%
Q7 Out of the seven Florida colleges with Division
1 football teams: Central Florida University, the
University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University,
Florida International University, Florida State
University, the University of Miami, and the
University of South Florida, which is your
favorite?
Central Florida ………………………………………… 11%
Florida……………………………………………………. 30%
Florida Atlantic ………………………………………… 5%
Florida International …………………………………. 1%
Florida State …………………………………………… 19%
Miami …………………………………………………….. 9%
South Florida ………………………………………….. 6%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%
Q8 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 45%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 48%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 7%
Q9 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 10%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 17%
Moderate………………………………………………… 30%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 23%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 20%
Q10 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%
Q11 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……………………………………………… 36%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 21%
Q12 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 11%
White …………………………………………………….. 69%
African-American …………………………………….. 15%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%
Q13 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………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 28%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 33%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 27%
