A.G. Gancarski
Florida’s junior Senator is on the Primary ballot and will almost certainly advance to the November election as well. That’s the good news for U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.
The bad news?
It’s uncertain if voters want him for another six-year term, based on the latest USA Today/Suffolk University/WSVN-TV phone poll of 500 likely voters conducted between Aug. 7 and Aug. 11.
Scott is at 35% approval in this survey, with a staggering 49% of respondents regarding him unfavorably.
The Senator and two-term former Governor from Naples is underwater in every region of the state. He is at -1 in the Panhandle, -2 in North Florida, -22 in “East” Florida, and -26 in South Florida.
A serious gender gap is in play as well, which could help his likely General Election opponent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. While Scott is treading water with men (45% approval against 44% disapproval), women voters surveyed here seem to be in revolt, with just 28% approving of Scott and 52% disapproving.
Meanwhile, Scott is also underwater with all groups of voters under the age of 65, while treading water with senior citizens with 40% approval and 40% disapproval.
With those under 35, he is at 35% approval and 57% disapproval. He is at -19 with voters between 35 and 49 years of age, and at the same level with those between 50 and 64.
Predictably, Democrats don’t like Scott. He has 74% disapproval among the opposition party, with 13% regarding him favorably.
But the real surprise in this survey arguably is his underwhelming performance with Republicans.
The Naples Republican has just 59% approval in his own party, against 24% disapproval. Meanwhile, an additional 10% claim to have never heard of the man who has held statewide office continuously since the beginning of 2011.
Among independents, the landscape is similarly bleak.
Scott is at 28% approval against 57% disapproval, suggesting that his base plays over the last six years have hurt him with unaligned voters.
While Scott is above water with Hispanic voters, with 43% approval and 40% disapproval, white and Black voters are a different story. He is 6 points underwater with the former (39% approval; 45% disapproval), and with Black voters, he has 12% approval and 78% disapproval.
The poll performance is remarkable given the professed party split of respondents, as 42% think of themselves as Republicans, 34% Democrats and 21% are independent.
11 comments
Larry Gillis, Libertarian (Cape Coral)
August 13, 2024 at 9:45 am
VOTE LIBERTARIAN:
The margin of victory will be owned by the Libertarian Party of Florida. After all, “nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come”. http://www.lpf.org
Guess which Republican voters he losing!
August 13, 2024 at 10:57 am
Misleading ads while actually voting against national protections for access to IVF don’t work, do they…
Sydney
August 13, 2024 at 11:19 am
About time people woke up. He’s always been a liar.
Kamala is Brat🥥🌴🥥
August 13, 2024 at 11:24 am
Women and young people are America’s future. Dump Rick Scott is the trash heap of America’s aging politicians who have brought our country to the brink of collapse!
Culo
August 13, 2024 at 2:10 pm
I Early Voted for Keith Gross …Rick Scott’s challenger….What kind of “politics is this? you didn’t even name Scott’s opponent?
J.Wall
August 13, 2024 at 6:03 pm
I am just hoping Floridians are fed up with this crook.He has done nothing for the state but feather his own nest.I can’t wait to vote against him again.
Craig Vincent Mitchell
August 13, 2024 at 6:07 pm
it’s a long shot But it would be nice to see rick scott lose. He’s been a Richard for the longest.
Hanibal Lecter
August 13, 2024 at 6:26 pm
14 years in office and has never won an election by more than 1%. Yet he thinks with that threadbare margin he can go after social security and Medicare. Vote for Debbie Muscarel Powell . Twice Hispanic senators would be a first for America and good for all parties.
Manolo86
August 19, 2024 at 11:33 pm
I’m Hispanic. Who gives a crap? I want competent and honest people whose values align with my own. That is all.
Michele
August 14, 2024 at 9:58 am
Why not show ads about your accomplishments instead of annoying ads trying to bring down Harris. It isn’t working.
Matt
August 20, 2024 at 1:07 pm
Has everyone forgotten this ???
Rick Scott was in New York yesterday skipping votes, kissing up to Trump, and reminding everyone that he oversaw the largest Medicare fraud in history. Scott mistakenly thought no one would remember how he “took responsibility” for his company defrauding Medicare recipients and military families out of millions.
See below for a roundup of coverage:
MSNBC, The ReidOut: Trump Sycophant Rick Scott Attends His Trial
– Joy Reid: “Let’s unpack why the Justice Department went after Rick Scott’s former company, HCA. The Department joined eight whistleblower lawsuits alleging HCA defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and military TRICARE. HCA reached a settlement agreeing to pay $1.7 billion in penalties in the largest Medicare fraud case in history – with much of the defrauding happening under Rick Scott’s watch.”
– “[Rick Scott] says he ‘took responsibility’ for the fraud in his former company. He also walked away from it all with $300 million in stocks, making him one of the richest members of Congress.”
– “So he’s really just another member of the oligarch class lining up at the Trump trough because they want total control of this country.”
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