Trouble for Rick Scott? He’s at 35% approval in an R+8 poll

Rick Scott. Image via AP.

Florida’s junior Senator is on the Primary ballot and will almost certainly advance to the November election as well. That’s the good news for U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.

The bad news?

It’s uncertain if voters want him for another six-year term, based on the latest USA Today/Suffolk University/WSVN-TV phone poll of 500 likely voters conducted between Aug. 7 and Aug. 11.

Scott is at 35% approval in this survey, with a staggering 49% of respondents regarding him unfavorably.

The Senator and two-term former Governor from Naples is underwater in every region of the state. He is at -1 in the Panhandle, -2 in North Florida, -22 in “East” Florida, and -26 in South Florida.

A serious gender gap is in play as well, which could help his likely General Election opponent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. While Scott is treading water with men (45% approval against 44% disapproval), women voters surveyed here seem to be in revolt, with just 28% approving of Scott and 52% disapproving.

Meanwhile, Scott is also underwater with all groups of voters under the age of 65, while treading water with senior citizens with 40% approval and 40% disapproval.

With those under 35, he is at 35% approval and 57% disapproval. He is at -19 with voters between 35 and 49 years of age, and at the same level with those between 50 and 64.

Predictably, Democrats don’t like Scott. He has 74% disapproval among the opposition party, with 13% regarding him favorably.

But the real surprise in this survey arguably is his underwhelming performance with Republicans.

The Naples Republican has just 59% approval in his own party, against 24% disapproval. Meanwhile, an additional 10% claim to have never heard of the man who has held statewide office continuously since the beginning of 2011.

Among independents, the landscape is similarly bleak.

Scott is at 28% approval against 57% disapproval, suggesting that his base plays over the last six years have hurt him with unaligned voters.

While Scott is above water with Hispanic voters, with 43% approval and 40% disapproval, white and Black voters are a different story. He is 6 points underwater with the former (39% approval; 45% disapproval), and with Black voters, he has 12% approval and 78% disapproval.

The poll performance is remarkable given the professed party split of respondents, as 42% think of themselves as Republicans, 34% Democrats and 21% are independent.