President Donald Trump gestures as he walks toward the White House after spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in March. | Getty Images
Outbreak hurts Trump's electability in Florida, poll says
TALLAHASSEE — The coronavirus outbreak is hitting Floridians’ finances and, by extension, President Donald Trump’s ability to win the nation’s biggest swing state.
A University of North Florida poll showed Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden 40 percent to 46 percent among 3,244 registered voters surveyed by email.
Among those surveyed from March 31 through April 4, 53 percent do not approve of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, compared to 45 percent who do. A key problem for Trump is that a majority of Floridians, 58 percent, don’t trust him to provide reliable information about the pandemic.
A slim majority — 51 percent— approve of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handling of the outbreak, compared to 46 percent who disapprove.
Local mayors posted much higher marks when the poll surveyed voters from certain regions.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor had a 78 percent approval rating and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry's approval was at 70 percent.
Poll respondents gave an 85 percent approval rating to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and 86 percent said they trust information coming from him.
“Floridians are clear in their stance on who they trust, and it’s not their political representatives,’’ said Michael Binder, director of UNF’s Public Opinion Research Lab. “Health organizations have the spotlight and authority to make suggestions to officials, and it would behoove politicians to follow their advice, especially as election season creeps closer.”
The poll gives a glimpse of how deeply the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the lives of state residents. More than one in four people said they know someone who has had work hours cut, and 23 percent know someone who had lost their job. Seventeen percent said they knew someone personally who had tested positive for the coronavirus.
More than 12,300 people in Florida have tested positive for coronavirus and 221 people have died as of Sunday, according to the state.
Binder sounded a note of caution that the poll surveyed registered voters, not likely voters, even as political campaigning has “screeched to a grinding halt.”
Still, a slight majority of those polled said they voted for Trump in 2016, he said.
"Something may be changing in Florida ahead of the election," Binder said.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percent.
Trump, who became a permanent resident of the state last year, has made Florida a cornerstone of his reelection strategy and he has already held several campaign rallies in the state ahead of the November election.
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