July 2012 Florida Decides Poll: Gov. Scott's low approval ratings

Originally posted Saturday, July 14, 2012.

Gov. Rick Scott's recent attempts to improve his popularity may not be working as well as he had hoped.

An exclusive Florida Decides statewide poll found the governor is still struggling with approval from Florida voters, with only 40 percent giving him a positive job approval rating.

Fifty-one percent said they're not happy with Scott's performance as governor and 9 percent remain unsure.

Scott is getting his lowest approval from the southeast part of the state, where the region shows a 57 percent disapproval rating. Central Florida voters are above the state numbers with 44 percent approving of the job he's doing compared to 46 percent who disapprove.

Republican analyst Chris Ingram said the challenge for Scott is that he's giving Floridians what they need, not necessarily what they want.

"In terms of fiscal responsibility and restraint and holding down the line on taxes and spending, And those aren't always popular things but they demonstrate real leadership," Ingram said.

Women seem to have a lower regard for the governor than men, with 56 percent saying they're not happy.

Even among his own party, his ranking is relatively low. One quarter of republicans say they disapprove of Scott. He also has heavy disapproval among black voters.

Democratic analyst Ana Cruz said voters don't feel that they have a governor who is out for their best interest.

"Rick Scott does what Ricks Scott wants to do. And I don't believe that he's beholden to the Republican Party of Florida since he funded his own campaign," Cruz said.

She added that his relative newness doesn't help either.

"He's an unknown,” Cruz said. “He hasn't been around in public service or in Florida for that matter, as other politicians have been."

The governor has also made waves recently with his decision to purge voter roles of people who are non-U.S. citizens.

In April, state election officials sent out a list of more than 2,600 names to election supervisors. Since then, local supervisors have begun to remove 100 voters from the rolls for being non-U.S. citizens. The problem is many of those turned out to actually be citizens.

Despite the controversy over this move, 54 percent of Floridians polled support the voter purge. Only 35 percent are opposed and 11 percent remain undecided on the governor's decision.

The Hispanic voters polled are strongly in favor of the decision, while most black voters, 68 percent, oppose it.

Ingram said Scott just needs to build relationships and let people know he's sincere and he means business.

"If he's able to do that people will take a second look and he doesn't need to worry about these numbers two years before an election," Ingram said.

Poll Results:

QUESTION: Do you approve or disapprove of Rick Scott’s job performance as governor?

QUESTION: Do you support or oppose the plan being implemented by Governor Scott and state elections officials to purge the Florida voter roles of persons who are non-U.S. citizens?

QUESTION: Do you recognize the name ....?
(IF YES) Do you have a favorable, unfavorable or neutral opinion of ... ?

QUESTION: Do you approve or disapprove of Rick Scott’s job performance as governor?

QUESTION: Do you support or oppose requiring Floridians to provide photo identification at the polls in order to vote in an election?

QUESTION: Do you support or oppose the plan being implemented by Governor Scott and state elections officials to purge the Florida voter roles of persons who are non-U.S. citizens?

The poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida from July 9 - July 11, 2012. A total of 800 registered voters were interviewed by telephone. The margin of error is +/-3.5%.

Exclusive Florida Decides Polls

No results found