The Florida Chamber of Commerce released a poll Wednesday showing Governor Ron DeSantis leads each of his potential Democratic competitors by at least double-digit points in the 2022 gubernatorial race.
In a hypothetical head-to-head general election, DeSantis leads Rep. Charlie Crist 51-41. Against Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in the same scenario, DeSantis leads 51-39, and against Rep. Val Demings, DeSantis leads 53-38.
Overall, DeSantis has a 55-40, approval-to-disapproval rating. Among Florida Republicans, the same metric is 88-6. Florida Democrats overwhelmingly disapprove of the job DeSantis is doing, 22-73. Lastly, Florida’s Independents and No Party Affiliated voters have a 57-37 rating for DeSantis.
“As I’ve said for over a year, under the leadership of Gov. DeSantis, Florida continues moving in the right direction and serving as the national model for COVID-19 recovery while other states chose fear over facts,” said Mark Wilson, Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO.
“Gov. DeSantis’ strong approval ratings show Florida’s voters and Florida’s business community are united around his leadership in protecting Floridians and Florida’s economy.”
The positive marks for DeSantis, in part, due to his handling of COVID vaccination distribution. As of yesterday, nearly over 9.3 million Floridians have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, which totals to over 45 percent of all Floridians. In fact, 70 percent of Florida’s voters polled gave DeSantis high marks for his handling of the vaccine distribution, while only 26 percent were critical.
Florida Democrats were also supportive of DeSantis’ COVID handling, approving of his efforts 48-46. While the margin is much closer, it follows the trend of Florida voters responding well to his COVID effort.
Also, a recently concluded legislative session which saw many of DeSantis’ priorities come to fruition have shown Florida voters how DeSantis has continued to govern.
DeSantis’ performance among Floridians is also notable due to his growing popularity, nationally, as a frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential ticket.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Background Photo “Florida Capitol” by DXR. CC BY-SA 4.0.
