Raleigh,
N.C. – Although
swing-state Florida has been a key battleground state for the November
election, many voters are beginning to show favoritism for the Democratic Party. If there was an election today, 47% say they
would vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress, while 43% would vote for
the Republican candidate. This shows a
gain of 3 points for Democrats since the end of August, when 44% supported the
Democratic candidate and 43% supported the Republican candidate.
In addition, Senator
Bill Nelson has gained support from Floridians over the past few weeks. The Survey found that Senator Nelson would
now take 46% of the vote for Florida Senate compared to Connie Mack IV’s
37%. Despite Nelson’s approval slightly
lower than a month ago, now 34 from 35, he leads Connie Mack by 9 points, an
increase of 2 points from August when he led 45 to 38.
“Bill Nelson
continues to look like a pretty strong favorite for reelection,” said Dean
Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “He’s not popular, but Connie Mack
IV has proven to be an exceptionally weak opponent for him.”
Currently,
Rick Scott is facing high disapproval ratings from his constituents. 48% of likely Florida voters disapprove of
Scott’s job performance. Further, 48%
stated that if there was an election today they would vote for the Democratic
opponent, while 42% would vote for Scott.
48% of
Florida voters think that Charlie Crist should become a Democrat, while only
21% disagree. This comes after Crist’s
recent speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC. Although Crist’s approval ratings are not
favorable with 43% having an unfavorable opinion compared to 39% with a
favorable opinion, voters do see him leading the state. If Crist were to run against Rick Scott for
Governor of the state in 2014, Crist is favored by 5 points with 48% of the
vote while Scott carries 43%.
PPP surveyed 861 likely
Florida voters from September 20th to 23rd. 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 Senator Bill
Nelson’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .34%
Disapprove…………. .41%
Not sure …………….. .24%
Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Connie Mack IV?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 30%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 26%
Q3 The candidates for Senate this fall are
Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Connie
Mack IV. If the election was today, who would
you vote for?
Bill Nelson………………………………………………. 46%
Connie Mack IV ………………………………………. 37%
Undecided………………………………………………. 17%
Q4 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
Marco Rubio’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .52%
Disapprove…………. .32%
Not sure …………….. .16%
Q5 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Rick Scott’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .38%
Disapprove…………. .48%
Not sure …………….. .13%
Q6 Generally speaking, if there was an election
today, would you vote for Republican Rick
Scott or his Democratic opponent?
Rick Scott…………… .42%
Democratic
opponent……………..48%
Not sure …………….. .10%
Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Charlie Crist?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 39%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 18%
Q8 Do you think Charlie Crist should become a
Democrat, or not?
He should……………………………………………….. 48%
He should not………………………………………….. 21%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 31%
Q9 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……………………………………………….. 43%
Charlie Crist ……………………………………………. 48%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%
Q10 If there was an election for Congress today,
would you vote Democratic or Republican?
Democratic……………………………………………… 47%
Republican……………………………………………… 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%
Q11 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 10%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 15%
Moderate………………………………………………… 34%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 25%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 16%
Q12 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%
Q13 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 ……………………………………………….. 44%
Republican……………………………………………… 36%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 20%
Q14 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 13%
White …………………………………………………….. 69%
African-American …………………………………….. 13%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%
Q15 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………………………………………………….. 34%
Older thhan 65………………………………………… 32%
