A poll from Quinnipiac University released Thursday shows a majority -- 52 percent -- of those surveyed disapprove of Obamas performance in office while 44 percent approve of the job he has done. In a Quinnipiac poll released May 1, 50 percent of Florida voters disapproved of Obamas job performance while 46 percent approved of it.
Obama has kept the Democratic base, with 84 percent of his party approving of his performance while 13 percent disapprove. Republicans continue to break against Obama with only 7 percent approving of his job performance; 92 percent disapprove. According to the poll, Obama has lost independents in Florida with 54 percent disapproving of his job performance and 40 percent approving.
The poll shows a major gender gap in Florida over Obama. A majority of Florida men -- 59 percent -- disapprove of the job Obamas done while 38 percent approve of it. Women are more divided, with 49 percent approving of Obamas work in the White House; 46 percent disapprove of it
Floridas two U.S. senators -- Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio -- are in much better shape in the poll. Rubio can run for a second term in 2016 while Nelson does not face voters again until 2018, when he can run for a fourth term.
Nelson wins the approval of 45 percent of those surveyed while 32 percent disapprove of him. A majority of Democrats -- 58 percent -- approve of Nelson; 16 percent disapprove of the only member of their party holding statewide office. More than a third of Republicans -- 34 percent -- approve of Nelson; less than half -- 47 percent -- disapprove of him. Almost half of independents -- 48 percent -- approve of Nelson while 31 percent disapprove of him.
Rubio gets the approval of almost half of Florida voters -- 49 percent -- while 37 percent disapprove of their junior senator. Republicans are strongly behind Rubio with 82 percent approving of him and 10 percent disapproving. Less than a quarter -- 24 percent -- of Democrats approve of Rubio; 58 percent disapprove of him. Rubio does well with independents with 48 percent approving of him and 31 percent disapproving.
The poll of 1,251 registered Florida voters was taken July 17-21 and had a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinstatenews.com.
