Floridians might have mixed thoughts about Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., but they are generally optimistic that the Sunshine State will do well in his second term, a new poll shows.
Quinnipiac University released a poll on Tuesday which shows Scott, who defeated Democratic challenger former Gov. Charlie Crist in November, is upside down with 47 percent of those surveyed disapproving of him and 42 percent approving him.
But, despite that, voters think the state is headed in the right direction. More than half of those surveyed -- 53 percent -- are optimistic about where Florida will be in the next four years under Scott while 39 percent are pessimistic about the rest of the governors second term.
"Florida Gov. Rick Scott has never been popular, said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll, on Tuesday. He spent virtually his entire first term with a negative job approval and was re-elected by the narrowest of margins. Now he is back underwater with voters.
"But it doesn't matter because the one time he had more supporters than opponents was when it counted -- on Election Day, Brown added. Even though Florida voters have a negative view of him, they are optimistic about the next four years with him in control.
Two-thirds of those surveyed -- 67 -- percent say they are satisfied with the way things are in Florida while only 31 percent are dissatisfied. More than half of Florida voters -- 53 percent -- say the Sunshine States economy is good while 6 percent rate it as excellent. Less than a third -- 30 percent -- say the economy is not so good and 8 percent think Floridas economy is poor.
A total of 67 percent of voters are "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with the way things are going in Florida, and 59 percent say the state economy is "excellent" or "good."
Asked if things are better now than they were a year ago, almost half -- 46 percent -- of those surveyed think things are better but a quarter -- 25 percent -- think they are worse off and 28 percent think that things have remained the same.
Only 9 percent think Floridas economy is getting worse while 47 percent think it is improving and 42 percent think it is remaining the same.
The poll of 936 Florida voters was taken from Jan. 22--Feb. 1 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
