Florida Chamber poll shows voters bullish on state government, less so on feds

A new poll released Wednesday by the Florida Chamber of Commerce suggests that although voters are growing more confident of the direction the state is going, they still have deep reservations about the federal government’s stewardship.

“Our results show Floridians are more confident in Florida’s economy,” said Marian Johnson, the Chamber’s senior vice president of political strategy. “These signs of optimism are good for our economy, for our families, and for our small businesses. Despite the gridlock in Washington, D.C., this poll shows Florida is increasingly confident that Florida is moving in the right direction. As Governor Scott says, ‘It’s working,’ and the voters agree.”

Among the major findings of the study, which was conducted via telephone interviews of 802 likely Florida voters from Feb. 18 to 23:

Florida’s Right/Wrong Direction:

• 46% of voters say Florida is heading in the right direction, compared with 32% who say the wrong direction. That’s a strong increase from October 2014, when polling data showed 43% to 38% respectively.

Congressional/Presidential Approval Rating:

• 70% of Florida voters disapprove of the job Congress is doing, while President Barack Obama’s job approval rating remains upside down at 47% approve compared with 51% who disapprove.

Possible Presidential Candidates:

• Jeb Bush’s favorability rating remains positive at 52% favorable compared with 33% unfavorable.
• Marco Rubio’s favorability rating is positive at 42% favorable and 36% unfavorable.
• Hillary Clinton’s favorability rating is within the margin of error with 48% favorable to 47% unfavorable.

Head-to-Head Primary Matchups:

President:

• Jeb Bush earns 32%, followed by Scott Walker at 18% and Marco Rubio at 10%.
• Jeb Bush vs. Marco Rubio only: Bush earns 51% to Rubio’s 35%.

U.S. Senate:

• Debbie Wasserman Schultz earns 42%, Alan Grayson is at 8%, with Gwen Graham and Patrick Murphy tied at 7% each.

Other findings from the study include that families say they are financially better off today than a year ago:

• From February to March of 2015, 36% said they were better off; 25% worse off.
• From February to March of 2014, 28% said they were better off; 36% worse off.

Job Approval:

• Gov. Rick Scott – 48% approve of the job he’s doing.
• Florida Legislature – 42% approve of the job it’s doing.

Top Issue of Concern:

• Jobs/Economy – 22%,
• Education – 17%,
• Healthcare – 8%, and
• Immigration – 7%.