Jacob Ogles
A poll of Sarasota County and Manatee County Republicans shows voters rally behind rape victims. It also shows they don’t like Christian Ziegler, if they know him at all.
Survivor PAC commissioned a survey of Republican Primary voters and tested both the favorability of local politicians and feelings on victim advocacy. That poll shows Ziegler underwater with the community who once elected him to the Sarasota County Commission.
Only about 14% have a favorable view of the current Republican Party of Florida Chair. Meanwhile, 22% have a negative view. Another 6% have a mixed view and 9% declined to answer. About 48% of voters did not recognize Ziegler’s name, even as it appears in major headlines daily.
Ziegler remains under active criminal investigation after a woman accused him of raping her in a Sarasota apartment. Ziegler has maintained that a sexual encounter in October with the woman was consensual.
Over the course of the investigation, Ziegler and his wife, Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler, told police they had a three-way sexual encounter with the woman more than a year ago, investigation documents show.
A video taken of the October encounter by Christian Ziegler contradicts key portions of the accuser’s account to police, which raised questions whether prosecutors will pursue charges.
But the Survivor PAC poll gives reason to think Republicans voters are willing to give victims the benefit of the doubt.
Of note, Christian Ziegler doesn’t hold public office right now, but Bridget Ziegler does. She at least breaks even in terms of public opinion, with about 20% voicing a positive view of the School Board member while 20% hold a negative view. Another 6% see a little favorable and a little unfavorable, and 6% chose not to rate her. As with her husband, about 48% did not recognize the official’s name.
Moms for Liberty, a group Bridget Ziegler co-founded, fares much better with the electorate. About 35% of GOP voters hold a positive view of the group and only 11% hold a negative view.
As for other polls in the region, most state GOP figures and longtime public servants are in better shape than either of the Zieglers.
About 81% of Republicans in the region, for example, have a favorable view of Gov. Ron DeSantis and 76% have a favorable opinion of former President Donald Trump. An interesting side note: While DeSantis has better favorable ratings, 59% of Republicans in the region want Donald Trump as the GOP nominee for President compared to 22% who favor DeSantis.
About 61% have a positive opinion about U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a GOP incumbent up for re-election next year. By comparison, 71% have a positive opinion on U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican re-elected in 2022.
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Longboat Key Republican who represented part of the region since his election in 2006, has a favorable rating from 40% of GOP voters and an unfavorable rating from 16%. About 29% of voters don’t recognize him.
Pollsters also gauged public opinion on several state lawmakers, including state Sen. Joe Gruters and state Reps. Mike Beltran, Tommy Gregory, Fiona McFarland and Will Robinson. More than half of voters said they did not recognize any of the state officials. But unlike either of the Zieglers, all lawmakers were firmly above water with those voters who knew their names.
Pollsters asked a number of questions about rape advocacy. About 77% of those polled said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who will advocate for survivors of rape and sexual assault, to reducing barriers to reporting and who promote survivors’ healing while holding offenders accountable. Only 15% were less likely to support a candidate focused on those issues.
About 71% of candidates also supported allowing for early evidence rape kits to be used as evidence of sexual assault, with the question noting that is faster than waiting four to six hours at a hospital for an exam. About 37% of those surveyed feel police take rape allegations seriously enough, while 26% said law enforcement does not.
While the tough-on-rapists stance may be predictable in any community, the survey conducted of Sarasota and Manatee County voters took place as a particular case makes local and national headlines.
Pollsters also tested opinion on crime overall, with 65% of GOP voters saying they were at least somewhat concerned with violent crime affecting their families. About 52% of those polled said crime had stayed the same in their area in recent years, though far more viewed it as an increasing problem, 30%, than a decreasing one, 6%.
About 75% of voters were concerned at some level about rising antisemitism in Florida.
Metropolitan Research conducted the survey, speaking only to Republicans in the two-county region. About half those polled were men and half were women.
3 comments
Jojo
December 18, 2023 at 4:02 pm
How about a poll asking the electorate how they feel about the hypocrisy of the founder of Moms For Liberty?
It’s really rich that Bridget rails against anything that smacks of gay, yet she’s been in a three way for years with another woman.
Yet another example of ‘ if you want to find out what these ideologues are up to, see what they’re screaming the loudest about’
Lock him up!
December 18, 2023 at 8:18 pm
Christian Ziegler belongs in prison.
And his wife is a sick hypocritical c.u.n.t.
Sonja Fitch
December 19, 2023 at 6:57 am
No one is above the law! The Zieglers are as depraved as Jeffrey! Take it with the facts to a jury of their peers !
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