DeSantis 10th-most popular US governor
Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to enjoy strong support from Florida voters six months after he took office, with polling released Thursday showing he’s among the nation’s 10 most popular governors.
Morning Consult reported that 57% of Florida voters approve of DeSantis’ performance and 20% disapprove. That’s a net approval rating of 37 percentage points. Republican governors have an average net approval of 28 points.
His approval rating from Florida voters is enough to place him No. 10 among all the state’s 50 governors. The top two spots are held by Govs. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Larry Hogan of Maryland, both of whom are Republicans who’ve been critical of President Donald Trump. Each has approval of at least 70% of his state’s voters and disapproval in the mid-teens.
DeSantis has been one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters, and the president returned the favor last year, helping DeSantis win the Republican primary for governor and election.
DeSantis has a net approval of 78 percentage points among Florida Republicans and 31 points among independent voters. Even Democrats are more positive than negative about the Republican governor, giving him a net plus of 2 percentage points.
Morning Consult surveys more than 5,000 voters a day. Every quarter, it provides a look at approval ratings for governors and senators. The second-quarter ratings are based on 487,627 interviews in April, May and June.
Florida’s two U.S. senators didn’t fare as well as DeSantis. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., ranked No. 48 out of 100 senators, with 46% of Florida voters approving and 34% disapproving of his performance.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, RFla., ranked No. 51 out of 100, with 46% approving and 36% disapproving, a net approval of 10 points.