Drew Wilson
There’s plenty of business left to be done in the 2019 Legislative Session, but only three weeks left to do it.
Florida Politics asked more than 100 plugged in politicos which way the wind was blowing on a few of the major issues still in play: assignment of benefits reform, sports betting, and the texting-while driving ban.
Nearly half of Influencers said the texting ban has the best chance of passing. That view was shared by 44 percent of Republicans, 48 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of independents.
AOB was next in line at 27 percent, followed by sports betting at 2 percent — those odds have probably shifted a bit since the poll wrapped and news broke that a gaming bill could still be on the way for this year.
The remainder? They said all three issues were dead until 2020.
When asked about leadership priorities, Influencers seem somewhat confident that House Speaker Jose Oliva and Senate President Bill Galvano will get their priorities passed.
Oliva is looking for a repeal of the “certificate of need” laws, while Galvano is seeking to expand the state highway network. Two-fifths of insiders say both will head home happy come May 3 while 19 percent say they’ll have to give it another shot in 2020.
Of the two, Influencers say Galvano has the more realistic ask — 26 percent say the road plan will pass while the CON repeal will fail. Just 15 percent believe the inverse.
Finally, Florida Politics checked in on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ performance.
The new Governor has been acing public polls since taking over in January, and Florida Influencers are equally enamored with the new guv. Maybe even more so.
Nearly three-fifths of Florida Influencers — including 76 percent of Republicans, 22 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of NPAs — say DeSantis’ is doing an “excellent” job. Another 37 percent say he’s doing
“good” while just 7 percent say he’s doing “only fair.”
The honeymoon ain’t over yet.
The Florida Influencer Poll is conducted monthly and solicits opinions on current events from the state’s the top consultants, fundraisers, PR mavens, lobbyists and staffers.
Those who fancy themselves as “Influencers” and want to take part in future polls can send an email to [email protected].
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The Influencers who took part in this survey are: Tom Alte, Jason Altmire, Phil Ammann, Allison Aubuchon, Jon Ausman, Roger Austin, Mario Bailey, Albert Balido, Katie Ballard, Geoffrey Becker, Amanda Bevis, David Biddle, Ron Bilbao, Barney Bishop, Katie Bohnett, Lydia Claire Brooks, Brad Coker, Jordan Connors, Gus Corbella, Javi Correoso, Jon Costello, Husein Cumber, Jim Daughton, Claudia Davant, Hayden Dempsey, Richard DeNapoli, Pablo Diaz, Víctor DiMaio, John Dowless, Ryan Duffy, Barry Edwards, Alia Faraj-Johnson, Trip Farmer, Mike Fasano, Peter Feaman, Mark Ferrulo, Matt Florell, Shawn Foster, Towson Fraser, Josh Geise, Steve Geller, Adam Giery, Larry Gillis, Julia Gill-Woodward, Pamela Goodman, Joel Greenberg, Marion Hammer, Abel Harding, Jeff Hartley, Rich Heffley, Max Herrle, Nick Janovsky, Aubrey Jewett, Rob Johnson, Jeff Johnson, Christina JohnsonEric johnson, Fred, Karlinsky, Joshua Karp, Natalie Kato, Micah Ketchel, Lori Killinger, John Konkus, Jeff Kottkamp, Jackie Lee, Beth Lerner, Alli Liby, John Lux, Roly Marante, Beth Matuga, Frank Mayernick, Tracy Mayernick, Kristen McDonald, Darrick McGhee, Kathy Mears, James Miller, Joe Mobley, Ed Moore, John Morgan, Tim Nungesser, Meredith O’Rourke, Alex Patton, Juan Penalosa, Kirk Pepper, Mary Pezzi, Fred Piccolo, Gretchen Picotte, Ron Pierce, Ben Pollara, Samantha Pollara, Evan Power, Noah Pransky, Cissy Proctor, Bert Ralston, Foyt Ralston, David Ramba, Marc Reichelderfer, O’Doski Rhett, Jim Rimes, Franco Ripple, Evan Ross, Scott Ross, Ashley Ross, Jason Roth, Preston Rudie, Elnatan Rudolph, Ron Sachs, Meagan Salisbury, April Schiff, Pierce Schuessler, Stephen Shiver, Patrick Slevin, Adam Smith, Eileen Stuart, Alan Suskey, Nancy Texeira, Herbie Thiele, Cory Tilley, Heather Turnbull, Kyle Ulrich, Christian Ulvert, Jenn Ungru, Greg Ungru, Steven Vancore, Erin VanSickle, Nancy Watkins, Screven Watson, Christian Weiss, Doug Wheeler, Susie Wiles, Alan Williams, Rick Wilson, Gregory Wilson, Michael Worley, Joe York, Skylar Zander.
