You could say Rick Scott's honeymoon is over...but that would suggest he had one in the first place. A December PPP poll shortly before Scott took office found that only 33% of Florida voters had a favorable opinion of their new Governor to 43% who viewed him negatively. After a few months in office those numbers have only gotten worse- Scott's approval rating is just 32% while 55% of voters in the state are unhappy with his work so far.
Scott's numbers leave a lot to be desired across the political spectrum. Only 57% of Republicans approve of the job he's doing to 27% who disapprove. To put those numbers into some context his counterparts in the Midwest who are having their own popularity problems at least are doing far better within their own parties- Wisconsin's Scott Walker stands at 86% with Republicans, Ohio's John Kasich is at 71%, and Michigan's Rick Snyder has a 68% approval with GOP voters.
Outside of his own party Scott's support is close to nonexistent. Only 31% of independents like what he's done so far to 54% who disapprove. And with Democrats his approval is just 11% to 81% who disapprove. For sake of comparison Marco Rubio's disapproval with Democrats is only 51%, 30 points lower than Scott's and his disapproval with independents is only 31%, 23 points lower than Scott's.
The Florida Governor's race was one of the closest in the country last year with Scott winning by a razor thin margin even in one of the best Republican years ever. If voters got to do it over again today it would be no contest- Alex Sink leads Scott 56-37 in a hypothetical rematch. Independents say they would vote for her by a whooping 32 point margin at 61-29 and even 21% of Republicans now say they'd vote for her, more than twice the 10% level of GOP support exit polls showed her winning in November.
Some of the crosstabs in the 'redo' poll point to the Democratic turnout issues that made Scott's victory possible in the first place though. For instance voters under 30 say they would support Sink by a 67-26 margin if the election was today- but those folks made up only 8% of the electorate in the state last year. If they had turned out in greater numbers Scott would have been in the dustbin of Florida political history four months ago. Turnout from African Americans (who say they would vote for Sink now 85-8) and Hispanics (who say they would vote for Sink 69-28) was also down as a share of the electorate last year from 2008. Democratic voters may be disgusted with Scott as Governor but to some extent they did it to themselves by not showing up to vote in November.
Scott obviously has almost four whole years to rehabilitate his image but one thing's clear- it's not going to happen if he doesn't change the way he operates.
Full results here
I love when Tom mentions that lazy Democrats and Independents did this to themselves, because it's true nationwide. Sympathy is hard to muster when you Darwin yourself.
ReplyDeleteMartin O'Malley's popularity plunged to low-to-mid 40s after he passed massive tax hikes and then he rebounded into mid-50s within a year. Scott will be fine. PPP would have everyone believe otherwise, but extrapolating the future based on a present poll is sillyness.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see these new Republican Governors being so unpopular in states across the country.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that people voted for them in the first place.
People just don't pay attention. I never cease to be disappointed with the average voter.
No impostors are allowed here. It is better to be anonymous than to use someone else's name like.."Mike Huckabee 2012 said..."
ReplyDeleteTo the clueless person posting at 11:38 am, Martin O'Malley and Rick Scott are in totally different states. Martin O'Malley was a democrat in a heavy blue state where LV polling sample had democrats making up 60% of the vote. On the other hand Rick Scott is the governor of a purple states who won by 1% and only got elected because of the year. People are fully aware of his criminal activities something Martin O'Malley never had. To compare those two situations is just idiotic.
ReplyDeleteGood to see that support for gay marriage in Florida is the minority viewpoint. Just 28% support full-blown gay marriage compared to 37% who oppose any form of legal recognition for homosexual couples and 31% who support civil unions but not marriage. That means that 68% are at least somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of homosexual marriage.
ReplyDelete"It's nice to see these new Republican Governors being so unpopular in states across the country."
ReplyDeleteLOL, And if you believe all these numbers from Daily KOS/PPP, I have a bridge in New York I can sell you for a huge discount. DailyKOS will have you believe that their rigged polls of Repub politicians are true, while Barack and all Dems are ascendant everywhere.
Meanwhile, the independent daily tracking polls, with no allegiance to DailyKOS or George Soros, have Obama struggling in the mid 40s - Basically where he was when the Dems got slaugthered in Nov 2010Don't believe these DailyKOS polls until you have verification from other "independent" polls.
@Smooth Jazz, I absolutely believe the numbers coming out of PPP showing horrible numbers for republicans. You know why, because when PPP polled Wisconsin governor Walker had a 46/52 approve/disapprove. Most other approval polls for governor Walker have been much much worse including one from Rasmussen showing a 43/57 approve/disapprove for Governor Walker. One could even say PPP is showing much better numbers for republicans governors than other polls.
ReplyDelete"Good to see that support for gay marriage in Florida is the minority viewpoint. Just 28% support full-blown gay marriage compared to 37% who oppose any form of legal recognition for homosexual couples and 31% who support civil unions but not marriage. That means that 68% are at least somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of homosexual marriage."
ReplyDeleteThe real way to look at it is that 59% support some form of legal union for gay couples. All marriage is in the eyes of the law is a civil union. Beyond that it's semantics. Marriage is a religious concept.
To anonymous at 1:16pm - You must have no knowledge of MD politics... O'Malley has plenty of crap, including "fixing" crime numbers while mayor of Baltimore, and giving political appts. to friends. The man is a creep! So while Scott is not the best Governor, neither is O'Malley!
ReplyDeleteHis personality ratings will always be atrocious, but every governor in history who has been in a major budget crisis has horrible ratings. I doubt he will ever break 50% or even 45% approval ratings, as he has never been "well-liked" as Willie Lowman would say, but his ratings will go up after a budget is passed and the economy rebounds from the recession.
ReplyDelete"full-blown gay marriage"
ReplyDeleteI see what you did there...
Saying Scott is incredibly unpopular is like saying the ocean is wet, it is such an understatement.
ReplyDeleteTodd W. Byars
Tallahassee, Florida
I earlier posted a comment regarding the poll's finding on gay marriage in Florida and I find it interesting to read some people's response. What some of you may not realize is that this 3-option question does display the public's discomfort with the term 'marriage'. You can read the poll any way you like but the plurality oppose any form of legal recognition. I remember shortly before Floridians ratified a strict anti-gay marriage, anti-civil unions amendment in late 2008 that there was a similar 3-way split yet they ended up ratifying the amendment even though it banned civil unions too. The bottom line is that most Americans are just not comfortable with the term marriage, even if a couple national polls suggest it.
ReplyDeleteHe thought he was above the law before, and now he thinks he is KING. No one is above the law, not the President (remember Clinton?), nor the CEO of a Health Care Company, not Governor.
ReplyDeleteThis man, and the Republican legislators, now want to thumb their noses at the Amendment to the State Constition to reduce class sizes. The PEOPLE voted for this TWICE. What don't they understand about this? You LOST. The PEOPLE SPOKE.
Dictators.
10 to 1 Smooth Jazz listens to Glen Beck every day....
ReplyDeleteSmooth Jazz - I was talking about Republican Governors, not President Obama's approval ratings (which I agree - haven't moved really significantly for a long time now... not up or down.)
ReplyDeleteIn many states where Republican Governors won last November those Govs are now extremely unpopular. The buyer's remorse on the GOP is huge and should be very helpful in 2012 for Democrats.
AARP's March Bulletin had an article, "Are Rate Hikes Ahead." Here's what it states.. " A pledge by Gov. Rick Scott to brighten Florida's corporate climate by offering lower electricity costs to some businesses had consumer advocates worried that residential customers may pay more. Scott, a Republican, has suggested an "economic development rate" for corporations that agree to relocate to Florida or expand within the state. The reduced utility costs would be tied to job creation, BUT Florida's investor-owned utilities would not have to absorb the lost revenue. Instead, the reductions would be offset by higher charges to all other rate-payers--with residential customers shouldering most of the costs."
ReplyDeleteRICK SCOTT SHOULD BE OUSTED FROM OFFICE IMMEDIATELY&PUT WHERE HE CAN BE KING:JAIL!We the People of Florida have to put up with this(Im an Independent by the way,I prefer to think for myself thanks)He BOUGHT HIS WAY INTO OFFICE with ill gotten money:EVERYONES TAX DOLLARS,Republican/Democrat Independent,were STOLEN FOR MEDICARE FRAUD he supposedly knew nothing about,but he was Captain of The HCA ship??BALONEY!there were PLENTY of OPPOSITION VOTES IN MANNNNNY districts,but once again,trouble with vote counting got a Republican in office..funny how that seems to work,Twice now.I don't support ANYONE getting into office that way,&darn sure do NOT like how THIS DICTATOR is RUINING our State at breakneck speed.GET HIM OUT NOW,in4 years,we'll be DESTROYED as a State!
ReplyDeleteRe Dustin Ingalls' comment: "full blown gay marriage" - lol, that's great. For the record, I support full blown gay marriage. But heck I support full blown relationships of every kind. Why discrminate?
ReplyDeleteRick Scott is the WORST gov. That florida ever had.. He premise the world to all the voters and delivery nothing.. For all the replubican that vote for good the it happen to you. He premise you to vote for him and gave you shit. Good for all of you Replubicans. Have a nice day.
ReplyDelete