Lenny Curry, Melissa Nelson still polling favorably in Jacksonville
Lenny Curry seeks to give Jacksonville a going-away present. Image via AP.

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The durable incumbents continue to stay strong enough in polls.

Correction: the original version of this piece said Melissa Nelson was term limited. She is not and is likely to run for a third term. We regret the error.

Jacksonville’s Mayor and the region’s State Attorney are still above water in polling even after nearing two full terms in office.

A survey released Tuesday by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab shows that both Mayor Lenny Curry and 4th Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson have net favorable ratings as they near the end of their respective two term. Curry is termed out at the end of June, but Nelson intends to run for a third term.

Curry had 52% approval overall, compared to 42% disapproval, numbers that suggest that the criticism he gets on Twitter doesn’t always translate to actual voters. Republicans approved of the former Chair of the Republican Party of Florida by a strong, but not overwhelming margin: 70% liked the Mayor, and 27% did not.

Curry was also well above water with no-party voters, with 64% approval against 34% disapproval. He was underwater with Democrats, but not prohibitively: 31% approved of him, while 63% did not.

Nelson, who was elected in 2016 after a bitter Primary against Angela Corey, is well-liked among those who know who she is.

While she had just 51% approval, she only had 20% disapproval. Nelson was above water even with Democrats, 41% of whom approved of her, versus 32% who do not. Among Republicans, 62% approved of Nelson, while 6% disapproved. Nelson was above 50% approval with all voters over the age of 45.

About this poll: UNF polled 531 likely voters between Feb. 20 and Feb. 24 in a live dial survey that weighted responses across Jacksonville’s state House districts.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


5 comments

  • Jacqueline

    February 28, 2023 at 7:19 am

    This poll is was taken on specific zips codes. Y’all pollster is messy.

  • Dilly Pantinakis

    February 28, 2023 at 7:47 am

    Quit polling Glenn Kernan Country Club where Tim Baker lives and poll a real zipcode.

  • Seber Newsome III

    February 28, 2023 at 10:59 am

    This is proof why I don’t believe in these polls. Curry is the worst Mayor in the history of Jacksonville. No one likes him.That is why he did not run for another political office and never will.

  • sherry krol

    February 28, 2023 at 3:59 pm

    this is the first time I have ever seen something here I thought was absolutely incorrect. Curry is quite possibly the most unpopular mayor we have ever had. I can’t even find anyone who will admit to having voted for him last time. The JEA sale pushes from his administration
    are still stinking up the whole city and certainly have made him one of the most distrusted people in city government history.His record on violent crime…same…Plus…just nasty man. Your poll is wrong wrong wrong.

  • HMMM

    March 1, 2023 at 3:02 pm

    Lenny was publicly booed at the Trump rally when he was introduced as our mayor

    And that was 2 years ago

Comments are closed.


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