Different worlds: Democratic poll finds Florida voters polarized over freedom, health, Ron DeSantis

Florida voters are at odds over beliefs regarding Gov. Ron DeSantis, freedom, COVID-19 and other divisive issues, a Democratic group found in a new poll.

The poll from Future Majority, a strategy and research center supporting Democrats and left-of-center causes, was done to provide insight for Democratic campaigns in Florida.

It found DeSantis holds leads in head-to-head matchups with Democratic rivals U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, by 49% to 45%, and Agriculture Commission Nikki Fried, 49% to 44%.

But there is almost no cross-party support or opposition for the Governor: 96% of Democratic voters polled strongly disapprove of DeSantis’ job performance while 93% of Republicans strongly approve.

Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio leads Democratic Rep. Val Demings of Orlando in a U.S. Senate matchup, by 47% to 44% in the Future Majority.

About the only thing Democrats, Republicans and independent voters seem to agree upon is that 98% of all Florida voters said they do not feel represented by elected officials.

Future Majority conducted its poll through an on-line survey of 1,585 likely voters in Florida Aug. 14-17, with a margin of error of 3 percent for the broadest samples. The organization also polled Virginia voters, with similar questions.

Among the findings:

— 51% of Florida voters said they believe DeSantis “cares more about running for President in 2024,” while 46% said they believe he “cares more about the future of Florida.”

— 51% of voters said DeSantis “puts his political ambitions first,” while 45% said he “puts people first.”

— 49% say he “doesn’t really understand problems facing regular people,” while 47% say he is “in touch with problems facing regular people.”

— 64% of Floridians say they are falling behind the cost of living.

— 65% of Florida voters are concerned about the spread of COVID-19 through the delta variant, including 47% who are “very concerned.”

— 60% of Florida voters oppose withholding funding from schools that impose mask mandates, including 52% who “strongly oppose” withholding funding.

— 52% of voters support allowing employers to mandate vaccinations.

— 88% of Democrats agreed with the statement, “my freedom ends when it is endangering your health,” while only 21% of Republicans agreed with that sentiment.

— 63% of Republican voters in Florida think the virus coming through the U.S. border with Mexico is the most responsible for the recent rise in infections and deaths. The belief reaches 75% among respondents who said they are viewers of the OANN network.

— 99% of Republicans said they are comfortable flying the American flag outside their home, while only 57% of Americans said they felt that way.

— 48% of Florida voters agree more with the statement, “Donald Trump led a coup to try to overthrow the United States government and failed;” while 37% agree more with the statement, “Democrats and the far left have become hysterical. Donald Trump didn’t attempt a ‘coup. He got more votes and the election was stolen from him.”

— 86% of Florida Republicans think Trump got more votes nationally than President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

— Trump’s favorability rating in Florida is 91% among Republicans, 37% among independent voters, and 1% among Democrats.

— If offered a choice between freedom or justice, 53% of Floridians chose freedom, and 39% chose justice.

— 53% agree more with the statement “Freedom is more about having the ability to do the things in my life that I want to do,” compared to 41% who lean more towards, “Freedom is more about not having other people tell me what to do with my life.”

—69% of Florida voters say it is important to them that the Jan. 6 Commission gets to the bottom of what happened and let the chips fall where they may. That includes 59% who said it was “very important.”

— 94% said they are concerned about the amount of unaccountable dark money in politics.

— 94% said they are concerned about news outlets focusing on controversy instead of reporting the news and giving accurate information.

— 92% are concerned about gerrymandering of districts.

— 90% are concerned about  the power of a few “big tech” companies that control what people see, hear, and read.

— 80% are concerned about the spread of misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

— 71% are concerned about QAnon and right-wing extremists, while 62% are concerned about Antifa and left-wing extremists.

— 70% said they would support prohibiting the State Legislature from passing bills that would restrict someone’s ability to easily vote.