Drew Wilson
Combating inflation and solving the property insurance crisis are the top issues that will drive Floridians to the ballot box in November according to new polling commissioned by the Associated Industries of Florida (AIF).
The pro-business group surveyed 988 likely General Election voters and found that 23% were most concerned about the rising cost of living. Property insurance followed at 21%, a statistical tie. In a similar vein, 10% of those polled pointed to the rising cost of housing as their primary motivation to vote.
Economic issues have long occupied the top spot in similar polls, with property insurance rapidly rising up the list over the past couple of years, which have seen several insurers either enter receivership or exit the state. Among those still writing policies, double-digit premium hikes have become the norm.
While Special Sessions have been called to stabilize the market, legislative fixes to curb so-called “lawsuit abuse” and a $2 billion program using taxpayer money as a reinsurance fund have yet to produce any significant savings for Florida policyholders.
Combating illegal immigration (14%) and abortion rights (10%) were the only other issues to break double digits in the AIF poll.
AIF’s also poll indicates the state’s reddening trend is continuing.
Republicans hold supermajorities in the state Legislature, 20 of 28 congressional districts, and all statewide elected offices. That’s unlikely to change much after Election Day, with a generic ballot test giving Republicans a 6-point edge over Democrats 46%-40%.
Raw voter numbers are favorable for Republicans as well. The party now holds a 700,000-voter advantage over Democrats, a lead that has grown precipitously since 2021, when the GOP surpassed the Democratic Party in overall registrations for the first time in modern history.
There was one positive sign for the blue team, however: Third- and no-party voters say they prefer a generic Democrat over a generic Republican by an 11-point margin, 39%-28%.
“We’re seeing an interesting trend throughout the state where Independent voters are skewing more Democratic than Republican,” said AIF Vice President of Political Operations Jeremy Sheftel. “As election season gets closer, it will be important to monitor this trend to gauge which way independents will break come Election Day.”
The AIF poll was conducted by Jan. 2-6 by National Public Affairs. The sample included 988 registered likely General Election voters in Florida. Interviews were collected via landlines and SMS/text messaging to web. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
