A new poll shows a major partisan divide in Florida on issues ranging from medical marijuana to expanding Medicaid.
On Thursday, Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, unveiled a new poll looking at major issues facing the Sunshine State.
Asked about a state constitutional amendment on medical marijuana, the PPP poll found little movement from last year when Amendment 2, a proposal to expand medical marijuana, fell just short of the 60 percent margin needed to pass. The poll shows 58 percent of those surveyed back a medical marijuana amendment, the same percentage that voted for Amendment 2. More than a third of voters -- 35 percent -- said they opposed a medical marijuana amendment.
The poll finds a major partisan divide, with 76 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of voters outside the two major parties and only 39 percent of Republicans supporting a medical marijuana amendment. A majority of Republicans -- 55 percent -- oppose a medical marijuana amendment while 18 percent of Democrats and 29 percent of voters outside the major parties line up against it.
Medicaid expansion, currently a hot topic in the Florida Legislature, also produces a partisan divide. A majority of those surveyed -- 58 percent -- express support for Medicaid expansion while 26 percent oppose it. Democrats overwhelmingly support it, with 82 percent of them backing it, while only 6 percent are against it. Republicans lean the other way with 45 percent against Medicaid expansion while 35 percent support the idea. Voters outside the major parties back Medicaid expansion 57 percent to 29 percent.
Almost half of those surveyed -- 49 percent -- back the idea of holding gubernatorial elections at the same time as presidential ones, though 27 percent are against the idea. There is a bit of a partisan divide here with 57 percent of Democrats, 41 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of voters outside the major parties supporting the change while 21 percent of Democrats, 33 percent of Republicans and 28 percent of other voters are against it.
Asked about same-sex marriages impact on their lives, most voters -- 67 percent -- said it had no impact while 20 percent said it had a negative one and 14 percent said it had a positive impact. That majority includes voters of all affiliations as 66 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of other voters said same-sex marriage had not impacted their lives. Only 6 percent of Republicans said same-sex marriage had a positive impact while 29 percent said it had a negative one. Democrats went the other way with 22 percent saying it had a positive impact and 11 percent saying it had a negative one. Voters outside the major parties were more divided, with 17 percent saying same-sex marriage had a negative impact on their lives while 13 percent insisted it had a positive one.
The poll of 923 registered Florida voters was taken March 19-23 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
