A poll unveiled on Tuesday revealed that President Barack Obama and Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson are in serious trouble in Florida as they seek re-election in 2012.
The poll of likely Florida voters from Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies found both Obama and Nelson upside down in the Sunshine State. Of those surveyed, 55 percenthad unfavorable views of the president while only 40 percent saw Obama in a favorable light. Even more voters -- 57 percent -- disapproved of Obamas performance in the White House, while only 37 percent approved of it. The same percentage of voters -- 37 percent -- backed Obamas bid for a second term while 57 percent opposed it.
Obama did better when matched up against three of the leading Republican presidential candidates, but he still trailed all of them.
Despite being upside down in Florida with 38 percent seeing him favorably and 40 percent unfavorably, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts had a solid lead over Obama. Romney took 49 percent of those surveyed while Obama trailed with 39 percent.
U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota was also upside down in Florida but still beating Obama. Only a third of those surveyed -- 33 percent -- held a favorable view of Bachmann while 43 percent viewed her unfavorably. Despite that, she took 43 percent with Obama right behind her at 42 percent.
While more than a third of those surveyed did not know enough about Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who launched his presidential bid earlier in the month, 33 percent saw him favorably while 30 percent viewed him as unfavorable. Perry also beat Obama, 46 percent to 39 percent.
Obama was not helped by Floridians view on the nation. Only 20 percent of those surveyed thought America was on the right track while 72 percent thought the nation was headed in the wrong direction.
Nelson was also upside down with 27 percent approving of his performance and 40 percent disapproving of his tenure in the Senate. Twenty-seven percent also saw him as favorably, though 38 percent viewed the veteran Florida politician as unfavorable. Only 26 percent of those surveyed thought Nelson deserved a third term while 39 percent were against it. When matched against a generic Republican opponent, Nelson trailed with 38 percent while the Republican took 43 percent.
Republicans also led in generic congressional match-ups, taking 42 percent while Democrats trailed with 36 percent.
The poll of 723 likely voters was taken from Aug. 16-18 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.64 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859
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