DeSantis in ‘honeymoon period:’ poll
In his first five weeks, Gov. Ron DeSantis has shattered norms and sought to reshape Florida’s government. So far, voters like what the new governor is doing.
A Florida Atlantic University poll released Tuesday found 48 percent of voters approving of his performance, with just 18 percent disapproving — a net positive of 30 percentage points.
“DeSantis appears to be enjoying a honeymoon period,” the poll report said.
“Even though DeSantis had a tightly contested race for governor, it seems that Floridians are giving him a fresh start,” Monica Escaleras, director of FAU’s Business and Economic Polling Initiative said in a written analysis of the survey’s findings.
One caveat: A large share of Florida voters — 34 percent — don’t have an opinion about
In October, near the end of a bruising campaign for U.S. Senate, DeSantis’ fellow Republican and predecessor, Gov. Rick Scott, had 43 percent approval, 36 percent disapproval, and 21 percent were unsure.
Florida is a deeply divided state, and that’s shown in how people with different political outlooks view DeSantis.
Democrats: 23 percent approve, 32 percent disapprove, 46 percent unsure.
Republicans: 73 percent approve, 8 percent disapprove, 19 percent unsure. Independents: 49 percent 12 percent percent unsure. DeSantis’ performance. Bucher, and remaking the Florida Supreme Court with a significantly more conservative bent.
Pollsters didn’t ask about any of those issues, but on two others found support for DeSantis’ approach.
His plan to establish a task force to reduce the impact of harmful algae blooms won support from 59 percent of respondents, and eliminating Common Core standards from school exams in Florida is supported by 52 percent. About three in 10 voters are undecided on both those issues.
Kevin Wagner, an FAU political scientist and research fellow at the polling initiative, said that even though Florida is a sharply divided state, DeSantis has a path forward with policies on education and the environment that appeal to members of both parties.
The FAU Business and Economics Polling Initiative survey of 500 Florida registered voters was conducted online and through automated calls to people with landline telephones from Thursday through Saturday.
It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Breakdowns for smaller groups, such as Democrats, Republicans and independents and men and women, have higher margins of error.