Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, unveiled a poll Tuesday that shows, after six months in office, Gov. Rick Scott remains deeply unpopular with voters in the Sunshine State and is, for the moment, in bad shape to be re-elected in 2014.
The poll found that 33 percent of those surveyed approves of Scotts performance in office while 59 percent disapproves of the Republican governor. In March, Scott stood with 32 percent approval and 55 percent disapproval. The poll also found Scott can help swing Florida for Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012. While 26 percent said Scotts first six months as governor will make them more likely to vote for the Republican presidential candidate in 2012, 40 percent of those surveyed say the governors actions are leading them to vote for Obama.
The poll found that Scott was losing moderate voters -- and even somewhat conservative ones. Scott was severely upside down with the 30 percent of those surveyed who identified themselves as moderates. While 21 percent of the moderates approved of Scott, 71 percent of them disapproved. Of the 23 percent of voters who identified themselves as somewhat conservative, 40 percent approved of Scott but more -- 47 percent -- disapproved of the governor. Only among the 20 percent of those surveyed who identified themselves as very conservative did Scott do well. He won the approval of 72 percent of the very conservative voters and the disapproval of 18 percent of them.
Scott was, not surprisingly, polling poorly with liberals. The 10 percent of those surveyed who identified themselves as very liberal had no use for Scott, with only 4 percent approving of him while 96 percent disapproved of him. Somewhat liberal voters, who made up 17 percent of the total, also had a low opinion of Scott, with 17 percent approving the governor and 78 percent disapproving.
The poll found Scott was upside down with voters in all age groups. Of voters aged 18 to 29, 74 percent disapproved of the governor while 21 percent approved of him. While 33 percent of voters 30 to 45 approved of Scott, more than three-fifths of them -- 61 percent -- disapproved. Scott pulled similar numbers of voters who ranged from 46 to 65, with 31 percent approving of him while 62 percent disapproved. Scott did best with voters older than 65 but he was still upside down, with 41 percent of them approving of his performance and 47 percent disapproving of it.
Scott was also upside down with every racial group. While 40 percent of whites approved of Scott, 50 percent disapproved of the governor. With Hispanics, 69 percent looked upon the governor disapprovingly while 28 percent approved. Scott did worst among African-Americans, with 4 percent approval and 90 percent disapproval. With other racial groups, 63 percent looked at Scott in a disapproving light as opposed to 27 percent who regarded the governor favorably.
The governor was also doing poorly with female voters. He retained the favorability of 29 percent of the women surveyed but garnered the disapproval of 62 percent. Scott did better with male voters but he was still upside down. He won the approval of 37 percent of men while 56 percent of them disapproved of him.
The poll did have some good news for Scott. He retained the approval of 63 percent of Republicans despite a bitter and close primary battle in 2010 against then-Attorney General Bill McCollum. Only 30 percent of Republicans disapproved of the governor. Scott did poorly with Democrats -- garnering 10 percent approval and 82 percent disapproval -- and independent voters. While 27 percent of independent voters viewed Scott with approval, 64 percent disapproved of him.
While Scott beat then-CFO Alex Sink, the Democratic nominee, in the closest election in Florida history in 2010, if the election were held today Sink would rout Scott 57 percent to 35 percent.
Former Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the Republican Party to run for the U.S. Senate seat with no party affiliation in 2010, took 56 percent against Scott who garnered 34 percent. While there have been rumors about Crist joining the Democrats, the former governor has remained independent for the moment. A plurality of voters -- 43 percent -- wanted Crist to join the Democrats, while 26 percent said he should not. Democrats generally supported the idea of Crist joining them, with 46 percent welcoming the former governor while 18 percent opposed it.
If Charlie Crist has a future in electoral politics, its probably as a Democrat, opined Dean Debnam, the president of PPP. And while he would trounce Rick Scott, the reality is that so would a ham sandwich as the governor continues to become more and more unpopular.
The poll of 848 voters across Florida was taken between June 16-19 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
