Another poll shows Duval County voters don’t want the Republican National Convention

2016 GOP Convention. Photo via AP.

A second survey released this week shows that Duval County voters are apprehensive about the Republican National Convention coming to Jacksonville.

A poll released Wednesday morning by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Laboratory showed that a plurality of those polled do not want the event in their community.

All told, 58% of respondents oppose Jacksonville hosting the RNC, with just 42% in favor. 81% of Republicans back the convention being in town, but just 10% of Democrats feel the same.

Meanwhile, a full 71% of respondents (and 91% of Democrats) worry that COVID-19 transmission would be a concern when the RNC comes to town in August.

And 61% worry about protests and civil unrest during the event, with majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and NPAs all concerned.

Given the potential concerns, a full majority (56%) don’t expect the convention to translate into positive media attention.

“National nominating conventions are polarizing events, and unsurprisingly the levels of support for Jacksonville hosting the RNC varies dramatically by partisanship,” Dr. Michael Binder, director of the Public Opinion Research Lab, said in a media release accompanying the survey results.

“Under the backdrop of a global pandemic that appears to have come more fervently to Florida, the opposition to this event
being hosted locally seems much more concerning,” Binder remarked.

Those concerns suffuse other metrics surveyed, with 56% of respondents concerned that Jacksonville is moving too quickly in its reopening. 79% of respondents worry about the pandemic itself, and a full 67% worry they will contract the novel coronavirus themselves.

The poll of 2,522 registered voters assumed a D+6 universe that is 58% white.

We previously reported a RABA Research poll, commissioned by “Republican Voters Against Trump,” that showed voters leery of hosting the event while COVID-19 remains unchecked.

There, just 39% of those surveyed support the Republican National Convention coming to Jacksonville, with roughly half of those surveyed in opposition.

57% said they were concerned the convention would spur a new COVID-19 outbreak while only 43% said they weren’t worried.