Growing number of Southwest Florida Republicans believe Joe Biden’s victory fraudulent

fraud (Large)
A bare majority still oppose seceding from the union.

More Republicans in Southwest Florida believe Joe Biden’s win for President was fraudulent now than did immediately after the election. And more than ever they want President Donald Trump to continue challenging the results.

That’s according to a poll by Victory Insights, a Republican polling firm with an office in Naples. Pollsters there surveyed voters in Florida’s 19th Congressional District both on Nov. 7, the day most national media outlets called the election for Biden, and on Dec. 2, 30 days after the final votes for President were cast.

Between those dates, the percentage of registered Republicans who believe fraud played a role in Biden’s projected victory rose from 69% to 72%. Meanwhile, those who felt it did not dropped a percentage point, from 25% to 24%. Those undecided diminished from 6% to 4%.

That shows time has done little to calm the upset about the election results in the conservative-rich region. In the time between the polls, Trump and his legal team have made a number of assertions of fraud in several battleground states, most without any substantiation to the claims.

The slight increase in beliefs there was fraud corresponds with a similar drop in the number of Republicans who want a peaceful transition to a Biden administration. There are still 64% who favor such a course, but that’s a drop from 67% who desired that route in November, while the number who want Trump to “pursue all legal remedies” has jumped from 29% to 32%.

Pollsters also asked voters if Florida should secede from the United States should Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris take office. There are 31% of voters who support such a step, with 17% strongly backing such a move, and another 18% on the fence.

A total of 51% of Republicans oppose secession, the bulk of them strongly opposed. But that leaves Republicans in region almost evenly divided as far as being open to separating from the United States of America.

Since November, that marks an increase of 1 point in favor of such revolution, but a four point increase in those who say no to secession.

The same pollsters in November also surveyed voters in North Carolina and found 1 in 3 voters there favored breaking from the union. Updated results from the Tarheel State have been released.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


8 comments

  • Jim

    December 4, 2020 at 3:46 pm

    Shouldn’t you revise the headline to read, “Growing Number of Southwest Florida Republicans Freaking Morons”? Or “… Brainwashed Tools”? Or, “…Thinking Like Cult Members”?

    You know, something more appropriate?

  • JP

    December 4, 2020 at 6:52 pm

    This is a very sad statistic, whether you support Biden or Trump, we are all Americans. All the empirical evidence supports that Biden won the election, regardless of the false accusations repeatedly voiced by Trump and his legal team. It’s time to get on board and support our democracy, not the unsubstantiated whimsical rantings of a poor looser. While you may not like Biden’s politics, he is above all, a decent, honorable person who is looking out for our country, not for himself at the expense of our country.

  • Pedro

    December 4, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    This poll should be taken with a grain of salt. Partisans are likely to give an overly partisan answer to pollsters to stir the pot and be loyal cheerleaders.

  • Glenn Reihing

    December 5, 2020 at 8:31 am

    According to the article, it was a Republican polling firm calling Republicans to get their opinion. As a person that has done statistical analysis, that is not very accurate.

    It would be if you were on the Titanic as it was going down and polling the passengers to see if they think they are going to get wet.

  • Sonja Fitch

    December 5, 2020 at 8:36 am

    Whatever! Believe whatever! The majority of Americans do not believe these fabrications. Majority rules in America. THERE IS NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE! After the first moon walk my Aunt that lived in Orlando said IT DID NOT HAPPEN. Said “it was filmed at Disney Studios”. She still believes that til today.

  • Jerry Bear

    December 5, 2020 at 10:03 am

    Remember that Southwest Florida is made up of the idiots who bought the swampland from con men (Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres) and remain fervent deniers of climate change and rising sea levels.

  • Joey

    December 5, 2020 at 4:23 pm

    The same poeple that vote for Ron Desantis. Very smart people. P.S. who cares what they think?

Comments are closed.


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