Poll: Lois Frankel nearly doubling Laura Loomer’s support in new CD 21 survey

Lois Frankel pushes for recognition for two trailbalzing women.

Republican congressional candidate Laura Loomer has gathered a lot of attention in her challenge against Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel. But a new St. Pete Polls survey shows she’s not gathering a lot of support from voters.

The poll puts Frankel ahead by a 61%-33% margin in the race for Florida’s 21st Congressional District. Nonparty affiliated candidate Charleston Malkemus pulled in just 2% support. Another 5% of voters remain undecided.

The survey sampled 1,015 likely voters and ran on Oct. 2. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Those results are in many ways unsurprising. Frankel won reelection in 2016 by more than 25 percentage points and ran unopposed in 2018. Democrats have a 17.5-point registration advantage over Republicans in the district.

Still, Loomer has attracted plenty of headlines given her controversial history as a right-wing activist. She’s made several anti-Muslim remarks such as calling Islam a “cancer.” Loomer supported Hallandale Beach Commissioner Anabelle Lima-Taub after Lima-Taub claimed Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who is Muslim, might “blow up Capitol Hill.”

Loomer was also banned from Twitter after calling Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar “anti-Jewish” and accusing her of supporting female genital mutilation. Facebook, Instagram, Medium, and several other social media platforms have also barred Loomer from their respective platforms. Uber and Lyft both banned Loomer after she complained about Muslim drivers.

Despite her record, CD 21 Republicans selected Loomer as their nominee from a six-person field on Aug. 18. After that win, Twitter declined to reinstate Loomer’s account.

President Donald Trump offered his support to Loomer following her win. “Great going Laura,” Trump tweeted. “You have a great chance against a [Nancy] Pelosi puppet!” Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and Republican operative Roger Stone are also supporting Loomer.

Loomer’s run has had some substance in addition to her previous eye-catching comments. Loomer has largely outraised Frankel according to the most recently filed fundraising reports, which cover activity through July 29. Loomer has also churned out a huge chunk of change in online fundraising fees to attract that cash in the first place.

That’s allowed Frankel to maintain her huge advantage in cash on hand. As of July 29, Frankel held more than $1.25 million compared to about $238,000 for Loomer.

The St. Pete Polls survey also showed a majority of voters (54%) plan to vote by mail. The remaining 46% of CD 21 voters say they’ll vote in person.