New poll released in closely watched Jax State Attorney’s race

A new poll shared with Florida Politics finds some vulnerabilities for North Florida State Attorney Angela Corey as she seeks re-election, although the questions asked of registered voters in the 4th Circuit appear to be weighted in favor of her challenger, Wes White.

The poll, conducted by Central Florida firm Gravis Marketing, used automated telephone calling technology to ask 1,128 registered voters a series of questions about Corey’s tenure.

For example, 37 percent of those surveyed say they disapproved of Corey prosecuting 12-year-old Cristian Fernandez as an adult on a 1st degree murder charge, while 50 percent approved.

55 percent of voters in the survey believe Corey improperly handled the prosecution of George Zimmerman on 2nd degree murder charges in the shooting death of Central Florida teen Trayvon Martin. (BTW, Zimmerman just can’t stay out of the news.)

 Other questions are more loaded, such as this one:

“Nearly 2,000 rape kits have gone untested during Angela Corey’s terms as State Attorney. If you knew she had not asked Jacksonville’s City Council, the Legislature or the Governor for additional funding in the six and a half years in office to process these tests, would you be more or less likely to vote against her?”

35 percent of voters responded “very unlikely,” 25 percent, “unlikely,” 13 percent, “likely,” and 9 percent, “somewhat likely.”

And an overwhelming 77 percent of respondents say they disapprove of Corey spending $235,000 in taxpayer funds to upgrade her pension and that of senior prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda.

The most worrisome number for Corey seems to be her high unfavorable ratings. 31 percent surveyed rated Corey as “unfavorable,” and 20 percent as “somewhat unfavorable.” Just 23 percent rated the State Attorney as “favorable,” according to Gravis, not a good place to be for any incumbent.

All of that said, the Gravis poll is written with questions that seem designed to favor White, such as, “Angela Corey is being opposed in the 2016 election for State Attorney by Attorney Wes White, a husband, father, and grandfather. How important are family values in your decision for whom to vote for in the 2016 Primary election?”

Despite her high unfavorables, Corey recently nabbed both local police and fire union endorsements, and her fundraising is robust, both realities that place her as the establishment favorite at this time. This remains an interesting race to watch.