Another poll shows Gov. Rick Scott in better shape with Florida voters. Last week, Quinnipiac released a poll showing Scott above water with 45 percent of voters approving of him and 44 percent of voters disapproving of him, the first time in more than four years he was right side up in a Q-poll.
On Monday afternoon, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which supported Scott’s efforts for re-election last year and continues to back him, released a poll taken on its behalf by Cherry Communications showing 48 percent of Florida voters approve of the governor while 44 percent disapprove of him.
Just like in the Quinnipiac poll, Scott has clearly nailed down the Republican base in the Florida Chamber poll with 74 percent of them approving of him while 21 percent disapprove. Almost two-thirds -- 64 percent -- of Florida Democrats disapprove of Scott while 28 percent approve of him. Voters outside the major parties lean against Scott with 48 percent disapproving of him while 42 percent approve.
Scott’s numbers might be helped by voters thinking the state is on the right path. The poll shows 45 percent of Florida voters think the state is headed in the right direction while 39 percent think it is on the wrong track. There’s a bit of a gender gap on the matter with 55 percent of men saying the Sunshine State is headed in the right direction while 33 percent of them say it’s on the wrong path. Women are far less bullish on where Florida is headed with only 36 percent thinking the state is on the right track while 45 percent say it is on the wrong course.
Asked what the most important issue facing Florida is, 22 percent of voters think it’s the economy and job creation; 13 percent believe it to be education, 11 percent say health care and implementation of President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law and 8 percent point to immigration.
The poll of 611 likely voters was taken from Aug. 8-14 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN. Kevin is a former employee of the Florida Chamber.
