A.G. Gancarski
The South may rise again at some point. But in Jacksonville, a near majority of voters wants local Confederate monuments to fall.
That’s the take from the latest survey from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab.
When asked about the city removing all Confederate monuments from public spaces, 50% of respondents said they back removal, 42% saying they oppose removal, and 8% wouldn’t say either way.
“In previous surveys we’ve seen a much more even split on the issue of Confederate monuments, but support for removal seems to be increasing,” pollster Michael Binder commented. “As you’d expect, this is largely split along party lines with 77% of Democrats in support and 73% of Republicans opposed.”
Beyond the predictable story of the party split itself, the issue seems to inspire more passion among Democrats opposed to the monuments remaining than with the Republicans who want the monuments to stay up. A full 67% of Democrats strongly support monument removal, with a relatively modest 58% of Republicans strongly supporting keeping the status quo up.
Among no-party voters, meanwhile, momentum is for removal, with 52% saying they want them removed, against 35% who want them to remain.
One major monument in what is now James Weldon Johnson Park has already been removed, while a tribute to the women of the confederacy in Springfield Park remains.
Both former Mayor Lenny Curry, a Republican, and current Democratic Mayor Donna Deegan have lobbied City Council to allocate funds for the removal of the remaining statue, which would be moved off of public lands and left somewhere private for monument enthusiasts to visit it. Thus far, Council has resisted those executive branch efforts.
Notes on Methodology: “The UNF PORL Jax Speaks Poll was conducted from September 12 to 15, 2023 by the Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) at the University of North Florida. It consists of a sample of 511 registered voters in Duval County. The sampling frame was sourced from the Florida voter file. To ensure a representative sample of registered voters, the sample was stratified into six geographical regions based on State House of Representatives District and quotas were placed on each.”
17 comments
Rick Whitaker
September 18, 2023 at 6:43 am
those loser monuments are inflammatory and reek of residual racism
Richard Russell
September 19, 2023 at 4:04 pm
You poor thing-do the statues oppress you?
Rick Whitaker
September 20, 2023 at 11:27 am
of course they “oppress” me. i’m not a racist so i oppose symbols of racism. by the way i’m not a ” poor thing”, i just believe in the constitution. your comment suggest that you oppose my dislike of racism or injustice.. i’m so glad that i don’t harbor those dark qualities that you seem to support. i’m woke and you are obviously not.
My Take
September 18, 2023 at 6:50 am
Move them somewhere.
We’re goìng to need the spaçe for all the DeSSantis statues.
“Creator of Pride”
the wrong blame
September 18, 2023 at 9:43 pm
the monuments do not shoot people, blacks kill each other every few days in jacksonville. why not focus your energy on that,,, are you blaming blacks killing blacks on a monument from 1915 of a woman and her two children reading from a Bible?? give me a break you racists who. hate white people
Rick Whitaker
September 20, 2023 at 11:34 am
no, people that are inspired by racist statues, do kill people. you are obviously a white Christian racist, so i don’t expect you to be open minded about this issue. good luck, you need it.
Alina Penjiyeva
September 19, 2023 at 12:43 am
Interesting to see the evolving perspectives on this issue in Jacksonville. It’s important to have these conversations and consider the sentiments of the community. Thanks for sharing the survey results.
Leave me alone
September 19, 2023 at 6:32 am
The Women of the Southland monument was built in 1915. it honors the women who took care of the families while the men were fighting. Just like women do today at Mayport and NAS. It has never shot anyone to my knowledge and it is the home for the homeless who sleep at its foot. Leave it alone. Use your time and energy to help the homeless.
Richard Russell
September 19, 2023 at 3:58 pm
History of the world includes the good, the bad and the ugly. Confederates were Americans who believed in States Rights as set forth in the Constitution. But of course the idiots in the Democrat party who were in 1860, the force behind the Confederacy, lie about it. Most in the south were NOT slave owners but supported the South because the Feds were usurping their States Rights. If you demolish all statues which represent something you don’t agree, over the course of a country’s existence every time there is a change, will the predecessor’s monuments be destroyed to appease the current occupiers. Where would Rome and other ancient countries be if they did that? That is part of their charm and history on view for all to see whether it was good, bad or ugly.,
Joe
September 20, 2023 at 3:37 pm
You are wrong as always, Richard, parroting the party line yet again. The Civil War was of course primarily about slavery, which all of the Confederate states strongly supported as it was key to their economies and political representation, and they largely viewed their slave populations as inferior beings. “States rights” is a cover for slavery, just like “parents rights” today is a cover for destroying public schools in the service of white supremacy and segregation.
But, it’s no surprise to see someone whose brain has been so melted by right-wing media continue defending racist losers: this is the GQP way.
JD
September 21, 2023 at 4:21 pm
Your comparison of States Rights vs Parents Rights is pretty spot on.
I want to add to that analysis, these same assh0les bellowing about states’ rights are also the ones that are enacting laws that remove that ability of local laws and local governance.
Rick Whitaker
September 21, 2023 at 4:16 pm
the reason rich people like states rights is because it’s easier to steal and cheat on a state level compared to a federal level. but you are too much of a hater to understand that. you sound illiterate.
JD
September 21, 2023 at 4:25 pm
If they are going to bellow about the Soro’s sponsored leftist prosecutors, then let us not make our conspiracy card our hole card. Lets point to the Koch Brothers’ Federalist society backing, the plans to take the state judicial and legislature, and purge of the other parties voter rolls through hook and crook.
Citizens United was neither for the citizens, nor united.
Seems like those accusing and spitting out the party lines were the ones doing – and projecting.
The Republican Party was Created in Opposition to Slavery!
September 21, 2023 at 9:29 pm
Republicans supporting Confederate monuments really is an absurdity.
Rick Whitaker
September 22, 2023 at 8:10 am
today’s gop don’t believe in anything, they just love to hate. somehow, ,hating makes them feel better about themselves. i think it’s a christian thing.
Blake Harper
September 27, 2023 at 10:55 am
Comparing this poll to UNF’s past polls (even the one in February) shows that the current one is biased towards liberal/left wing outcomes.
While more Dem’s respond to the UNF polls (expected given source, followers, etc) as a rule, the number of Democrats responding in this poll is 150% of Republicans.
This bias results in this particular poll being clearly influenced by the Democrats’ political agenda and the 2 year refusal of the media to cover the balanced compromise of the Unity Project whose elements mirror two diverse and independent City Hall work groups’ recommendations.
The same observation is true with respect to the imbalance of NPA’s (doubled in participation rate between Feb. & Sept. 10% > 23%, actual number of respondents grew by 120%)
In statistics, this outcome is called a “set response” and does not reflect characteristics of the greater population of interest.
Blake Harper
September 27, 2023 at 11:31 am
So, what would drive this biased outcome?
Poll conducted between Sept. 12th and 15th, 2023, just 16 days after a Clay County man came to Jacksonville to shoot up a Dollar General across from Edward Waters College.
In a community of 1.6 Million people, the media and the Democrat Party have used this terrible and racist act of one man not even from our City paint our community with a false narrative.
And the media has walked lock-step with them to achieve their political agenda.
Recalling Ferguson MO and Baltimore MD where anger and hatred were whipped up over false narratives and agenda only to be completely destroyed by facts and objective reporting that took time to develop.
Biased politics, biased reporting, biased polling on display.
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