A poll released Wednesday morning by Quinnipiac University found Floridians are souring on Gov. Rick Scott and have a low opinion of the Legislature and the 2011 budget that the governor is due to sign Thursday.
A clear majority of those surveyed -- 57 percent -- disapproved of Scotts performance in office, the lowest rating of any governor examined by Quinnipiac, while only 29 percent expressed approval of him. In the last Quinnipiac poll, released in early April, Scott won the approval of 35 percent and the disapproval of 48 percent.
Democrats overwhelmingly disapproved of Scott, with only 13 percent backing him while 72 percent disapproved. Even among Republicans, Scott is starting to lose ground with 51 percent approving the governor and 37 percent disapproving. Only 28 percent of independents in the poll approved Scotts performance while 57 percent disapproved.
The poll found that Florida voters disapproved of the state Legislature by a similar margin. The Legislature garnered 27 percent approval and 56 percent disapproval, down from 35 percent approval and 47 percent disapproval back in April.
"Voters have turned even more negative on Governor Rick Scott since the last Quinnipiac University survey," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "It probably doesn't make him feel any better that the state Legislature is sharing the basement suite in the eyes of the electorate. The good news for the governor is that he has three and a half years to turn public opinion around.
The poll also found that Floridians had a low opinion of the budget passed during the 2011 session which Scott is expected to sign in The Villages on Thursday. Only 24 percent of those surveyed approved of the budget while 53 percent disapproved of it. The poll found that many Floridians -- 54 percent -- thought the budget unfair with only 29 percent thinking it fair.
A plurality of Floridians -- 47 percent -- thought the budget cut too much from state government, while 18 percent thought more needed to be cut and 22 percent thought it was about right. Only 23 percent of those surveyed thought the budget would help the Sunshine States economy recover while 38 percent maintained it would hurt it.
More than two-thirds of those surveyed -- 68 percent -- felt that the final budget was crafted by both Scott and the Legislature while 16 percent thought the governor was responsible for it and 11 percent thought the Legislature was.
Scott also garnered low marks on the way he handled the state budget, with 30 percent approval and 59 percent disapproval. While 54 percent thought the governor should not have promised not to raise taxes or increase fees, 42 percent thought that Scott kept his word as opposed to 40 percent who did not.
"The data on the perceived fairness of the governor's budget is[sic] crucial, said Brown. When voters by almost 2-1 say his approach is unfair to them, that's a giant flashing political warning sign for Scott. When voters don't think they are being treated fairly, they tend to react negatively."
The poll found property insurance remained a major issue in the Sunshine State as 63 percent thought it was harder to obtain and 74 percent thought it was getting more expensive. A majority of those surveyed -- 59 percent -- wanted more government regulation of property insurance and 29 percent felt the state was doing enough as is.
Brown pointed to the new property insurance law that Scott signed and noted voter concern on the issue remains high.
"Whether the new law changes public attitudes about insurance in Florida, only time will tell, but there is no doubt that the electorate sees a crying need for something to make getting and paying for property insurance in Florida less onerous," said Brown.
The poll of 1,196 registered voters was taken between May 17-23 and had a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
