Shock poll: Only 4 in 10 Florida voters want Confederate monuments to stay put

Isolated photo of Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate forces at Gettysburg

For enthusiasts of Confederate monuments, the University of North Florida poll released Tuesday morning presents bad news and good news.

The poll — a live dial survey from Oct. 11-17 of 816 registered voters — says that only four in ten Florida voters want the monuments to “remain in public places as reminders of Southern heritage.”

An additional 47 percent want the monuments moved to museums, and nine percent more want the monuments removed completely.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that most Republicans want Confederate monuments to stay in place. 67 percent of registered GOP voters surveyed want the monuments to stay where they are, with 28 percent of those polled want the monuments in museums.

Compare that to Democrats — of whom 20 percent want the monuments to stay where they are, and 76 percent want them in museums or junked altogether — and the party split on this issue is in sharp relief.

NPAs, meanwhile, are closer to Democrats than Republicans on the issue. Just 34 percent of independents want the monuments to stay where they are, with 62 percent backing some type of removal.

However, as UNF pollster Michael Binder notes, it’s a GOP legislature.

“As Tallahassee contends with newly introduced House Bill 235 dealing with Confederate statues, Floridians should take note of the partisan divisions on this issue,” said Binder. “Republicans dominate the legislature, and the Republican voters don’t want the statues moved; this presents a real dilemma for legislators facing public pressure to do something about this issue.”

Rep. Shevrin Jones, a West Park Democrat, is carrying HB 235. The bill would remove Confederate monuments from public land by 2020, moving them to the Museum of Florida History.

Monuments to white separatists and supremacists would also be removed, a condition that may lead to robust debate on certain of Florida’s historical figures without Confederate ties.

The bill has an uphill slog: three committee stops in a staunchly GOP legislature await it.

And if this poll is any indication, there is precious little appetite to move the monuments from the GOP base.