Chamber poll: Floridians still high on DeSantis, but not Biden

Who's the real threat to democracy? Answers may vary.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign may be struggling to gain traction, but Florida voters still think he’s doing a good job running the Sunshine State.

According to a Florida Chamber of Commerce poll, 51% of voters approve of the job DeSantis is doing as Governor, including 85% of Republicans and 59% of no-party voters. The second-term Republican also boasts strong support among Hispanic voters, 55% of whom say he’s doing a good job.

The numbers align with other polls commissioned by the Chamber this year — DeSantis has long been above the 50% mark in approval measures. However, Floridians do not hold the man he hopes to replace in the Oval Office in high regard.

The same voters were asked their views on President Joe Biden and 56% of voters said they disapproved of the job he’s doing in D.C. His detractors include nearly nine in 10 Republicans (89%) and nearly two-thirds of no-party voters (65%). The President has an approval rating of only 37% among Hispanic voters, with 62% disapproving of his performance.

Biden’s flagging support correlates with Floridians’ views on his economic policies.

More than half (51%) of Florida voters believe Biden’s economic policies have made the U.S. economy worse, while only 34% believe they have made it better. Again, nearly nine out of 10 (86%) Republicans have a negative view of Biden’s economic policies. About a quarter (24%) of no-party voters and a third (31%) of Hispanic voters say Biden’s policies have improved the U.S. economy.

Voters don’t lump the Florida economy and the U.S. economy together, with voters generally believing the Sunshine State is in better shape than the nation at large — more than half (53%) of Florida voters believe the Florida economy is better off than other states while only 24% believe it is worse off than other states.

The sentiment has stats backing it up. The Chamber notes that Florida’s rolling annual growth rate of 3.2% is a full percentage point higher than the national level and July’s 0.5% increase in jobs was five times the growth at the national level. Meanwhile, Florida’s 2.7% jobless rate is lower than other large states, such as California (4.6%), Texas (4.1%) and New York (3.9%).

“Florida’s economic momentum continues to outpace the nation,” said Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson. “Thanks to the leadership of Governor DeSantis and legislative leaders like House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, recent legislative action reining in runaway litigation that drives up costs for Florida families and local businesses will pave the way for more competition and Florida’s continued growth.”

The Chamber poll was conducted on August 9-19 by Cherry Communications using live telephone interviews of likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points. The sample size included 243 Democrats, 263 Republicans and 98 no-party voters for a total of 604 respondents statewide.