With more than a year to go, Florida voters have already soured on many of the leading presidential candidates.
Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm run by Democrats, released a poll on Tuesday looking at how the leading presidential candidates stand in the Sunshine State. A new poll shows Republicans have a slight edge in Florida, the largest swing state in the 2016 presidential election, but most of the candidates are upside down.
Dr. Ben Carson is in solid shape with the electorate with 45 percent seeing the Republican as favorable while a quarter -- 25 percent -- see him as unfavorable. Businesswoman Carly Fiorina is slightly less known but 37 percent see her as favorable while 31 percent view her as unfavorable. Barely half of Florida voters have an opinion of Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, but 27 percent see him as favorable while 24 percent see him as unfavorable.
Vice President Joe Biden is better known as 45 percent see him as favorable while 41 percent view him as unfavorable, making him the only Democrat to be above water. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has his nose above water as 44 percent see him as favorable while 43 percent view him as unfavorable.
But the rest of the top contenders are upside down in Florida. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the favorite for the Democrat nod, has a majority -- 53 percent of those surveyed -- seeing her as unfavorable while 40 percent view her favorably. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, is less known but only 28 percent see him favorably while 44 percent view him in an unfavorable light.
Over on the Republican side, some of the top contenders are upside down with a majority of those surveyed seeing them as unfavorable. Despite winning two terms as governor, 52 percent see former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., as unfavorable while 36 percent see him as favorable. Businessman Donald Trump is viewed as unfavorable by 51 percent but 40 percent see him as favorable. Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., is seen as unfavorable by 53 percent while 29 percent see him as favorable. A slim majority -- 51 percent -- view U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in a favorable light while only 22 percent see him as favorable.
Despite moving to the Panhandle after his 2008 presidential bid, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., is seen as unfavorable by 47 percent while 31 percent see him favorably. Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., is also upside down as 36 percent see him as unfavorable while 29 percent view him favorably.
Bush has the edge in Florida over the Democrats. The former governor leads both Biden and Clinton 45 percent to 42 percent. Bush does slightly better against Sanders: 45 percent to 41 percent.
Carson does far better than Bush, besting Clinton 49 percent to 40 percent and blowing out Sanders by 15 percent.
Fiorina has done well against the Democrats. She beats Clinton 46 percent to 41 percent and leads Sanders 44 percent to 37 percent.
Trump matches well with the Democrats, besting Biden 47 percent to 43 percent and running even stronger against Clinton and Sanders, beating them by 6 percent each.
When matched up against Clinton, Rubio led her 48 percent to 43 percent. Kasich also beat her in the poll, 44 percent to 41 percent. Democrats run a little closer against Walker but he leads both Clinton and Sanders by 2 percent each.
Clinton does have the edge on Cruz and Huckabee, besting them both 45 percent to 43 percent.
The poll shows Trump can do some damage to the GOP in Florida if he runs as a third-party candidate. In that scenario, which Trump has downplayed in recent weeks, Clinton leads with 39 percent followed by Bush with 29 percent and Trump taking 27 percent.
Almost half of those surveyed -- 48 percent -- think Rubio should get out of the presidential race while 42 percent say he should stay in. Bush is in the same ballpark with 47 percent saying the former governor should bow out of the presidential race while 40 percent think he should remain in it.
The poll of 814 Florida voters was taken from Sept. 11-13 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
