Raleigh, N.C. – Rick Scott was elected by one point over Alex Sink last fall, and even as he prepared to enter office last December, PPP found that only about a third of voters liked him, and 43% disliked him. But instead of building good will in the last few months, Scott has continued to turn more voters off. Now roughly the same amount approve of his job performance (32%), but his disapproval rating is 55%. His own Republicans only approve by a 57-27 margin, and independents mirror the overall results. But the main thing he has done is tick off Democrats, who have gone from 60% unfavorable to 81% disapproval in three months.
Scott’s net -23 approval margin makes him the least popular currently serving governor on which PPP has polled. He stacks up with ousted or retired governors David Paterson of New York, Chet Culver of Iowa, and Jim Gibbons of Nevada.
As a result, Scott would overwhelmingly lose in a rematch to Sink, 56-37. 16% of those who say they voted for him would switch sides, as would 21% of all Republicans. Sink wins the independent vote by a whopping 61-29 margin, while exit polls had Scott winning them by eight points in November.
“Rick Scott was elected by the thinnest of margins in one of the best Republican election years ever,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Since then he hasn’t done much to win over either the folks who didn’t vote for him or the folks who supported him because he was a Republican despite having some reservations about him personally.”
New Senator Marco Rubio, however, is somewhat popular, with a 43% approval and 31% disapproval rating, putting him comfortably in the top third of the 83 senators on which PPP has polled. While 70% of Republicans approve, only 51% of Democrats disapprove. Rubio has already made a far bigger impression on voters than his appointed predecessor George LeMieux ever did, and his net approval is the reverse of LeMieux’s overall 16-27 read in the December poll. LeMieux is publicly flirting with a bid to join Rubio in the other Senate seat by challenging Senator Bill Nelson next year. PPP will release numbers on his chances in that race later in the week.
PPP surveyed 500 Florida voters from March 24th to 27th. The survey’s margin of error is +/-4.4%. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.
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 …………………………………………………. 32%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 55%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%
Q2 If you could do last fall’s election for Governor
over again, would you vote for Democrat Alex
Sink or Republican Rick Scott?
Alex Sink………………………………………………… 56%
Rick Scott……………………………………………….. 37%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%
Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
Marco Rubio’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 43%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 31%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 26%
Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Charlie Crist?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 46%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 42%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%
Q5 If he seeks office again in the future do you
think Charlie Crist should run as a Democrat,
Republican, or independent?
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 39%
Republican……………………………………………… 12%
Independent……………………………………………. 36%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%
Q6 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 ……………………………………………………..28%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry …………………………………31%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………37%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 4%
Q7 In the election for Governor last year did you
vote for Democrat Alex Sink or Republican Rick
Scott, or did you not vote in the election?
Alex Sink………………………………………………… 48%
Rick Scott……………………………………………….. 41%
Didn’t vote/Don’t remember ………………………. 11%
Q8 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 49%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 47%
Someone Else/Don’t Remember………………… 4%
Q9 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 7%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 16%
Moderate………………………………………………… 30%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 26%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 21%
Q10 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 51%
Man……………………………………………………….. 49%
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 ……………………………………………….. 41%
Republican……………………………………………… 37%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 22%
Q12 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 13%
White …………………………………………………….. 70%
African-American …………………………………….. 14%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%
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………………………………………………….. 22%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 38%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 28%
