Poll: DeSantis’ popularity plummets; Biden leads Trump by 13 points in state
A Quinnipiac poll of Florida released Thursday had bad news for Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump, with DeSantis seeing his lowest approval ratings ever and Trump down by double digits to Joe Biden.
Floridians also said the virus was “out of control” in the state. They overwhelmingly backed a statewide mask order and believed the state opened up too early. But they’re not behind a new shutdown just yet.
Overall, DeSantis’ job rating was 41% positive to 52% negative, a massive swing from April
when he received a positive 53% to 33% negative job approval rating, which even then was low compared to record-high approval for most state governors at the time.
The numbers are the lowest for DeSantis since taking office in January 2019.
“Just a few months ago, Flor
ida was a safe harbor for COVID refugees from up North,” said Tim Malloy, a Quinnipiac University polling analyst. “Now, it registers a startling number of infections, and the numbers say the buck stops at Governor DeSantis’ desk in Tallahassee.”
Biden led Trump in the state by a 51% to 38% margin, widening Biden’s close 46% to 42% lead from a Quinnipiac poll in April.
In the poll of 924 registered voters in Florida from July 16 to 20, DeSantis had a negative job approval for his handling of the coronavirus response, with 38% approval and 57% disapproval.
That also marks a big drop from April, when 50% approved and 41% disapproved.
Trump’s handling of the virus also was negative, at just 37% approval to 52% disapproval, down 11 points from April. Overall, Trump had a negative 40% to 58% job approval rating, compared with 45% approval and 51% disapproval in April.
“The president doesn’t escape the shifting moods and concerns of voters in Florida,” Malloy said. “His sagging numbers are a gut punch from one of the key states he keenly hopes to win.”
The biggest margin was in favor of masks, with 79% backing mandatory use in public compared with just 20% opposed.
Seventy percent also said the virus is “out of control” in Florida.
Asked about the reopening, 61% think DeSantis reopened the economy “too quickly.” Another 31% think he reopened “at about the right pace” and 6% say he reopened “too slowly.”
But just 49% think the governor should issue a new stay-athome order for the state, while 48% said they were against the idea.
On school reopening, 62% think it will be unsafe to send students to K-12 schools in the fall, and 57% say it’s unsafe for college students to return to in-person classes.
DeSantis’ desire to reopen schools drew 56% disapproval to 37% approval. Trump’s handling of the reopening of schools got worse marks, at 59% disapproval to 36% approval.
“DeSantis’ commitment to putting students in classrooms in the fall is a non-starter with voters,” Malloy said. “From elementary school kids to collegians, Floridians are saying ‘forget it.’”
Floridians also mostly supported removing Confederate statues and renaming military bases named after Confederate generals. A majority, 51%, said they see the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.