Ron DeSantis’ support tepid among Florida voters, but better than Joe Biden’s

Ron DeSantis and Joe Biden at Surfside. Image via AP.

A survey from Quinnipiac University shows Gov. Ron DeSantis barely above water with Florida voters. But that’s an improvement from last year, and it’s a better grade than Florida voters give President Joe Biden.

Just 47% of registered Florida voters give DeSantis good marks on overall performance, while 45% disapprove of the Governor, the poll shows. Along the same lines, 48% say the Republican deserves to be reelected next year, while 45% say he should not win a second term.

When it comes specifically to DeSantis’ response to the coronavirus pandemic, voters were harsher. About 51% disapprove of his handling of the crisis, while just 46% approve. The poll was taken Aug 17-21, with pollsters reporting a 3.3% margin of error, meaning voters were effectively split on his overall work and handling of the public health crisis.

But that’s a better position than DeSantis held last July. Then, DeSantis’ job approvals remained underwater, with 41% approving and 52% disapproving. Then, 57% disapproved of his handling of the coronavirus crisis, and just 38% gave him a good grade.

And regardless of where DeSantis stands with voters, he’s in a better place than Biden. On the heels of a highly criticized Afghanistan withdrawal, just 40% of Florida voters said they approve of the President’s job performance while 53% disapprove.

But voters think he has a better grip on the pandemic than DeSantis, even if it’s still a lousy one. In that area, 47% approve of his response, and 49% disapprove. That still leaves the Democrat’s handling of the crisis underwater.

There’s a clear partisan breakdown on voter opinion. Some 87% of Republicans approve of DeSantis’ job performance, and 87% of Democrats feel the same with Biden.

But independents break against the President 36%-57%, while they go for the Governor 47% to 43%.

The biggest hit for DeSantis comes from polarizing Democrats, only 2% of whom approve of his job performance, compared to 40% of Republicans who grant Biden a passing grade.

Many expect this won’t be the first time voters weigh Biden against DeSantis. There’s a wide belief DeSantis, should he win reelection next year, will run for President in 2024.

Quinnipiac also checked the temperature for Florida’s U.S. Senators, both Republicans, and found tepid support.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio received some relatively good news, with 49% approving of his overall performance and 38% disapproving. As he faces an expected tough reelection campaign against Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Val Demings, he has independents breaking for him 45%-37% in terms of job approval rating.

For U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, just 42% said they approve of his job performance compared to 40% who do not.