The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll finds both Ashley Moody and Byron Donalds ahead of the leading Democratic frontrunners. These leads mirror what is seen on the generic ballot among likely Florida voters, with Republicans retaining a 7-point lead over Democrats.
The Florida Chamber’s poll also finds Governor DeSantis retaining strong approval amongst Floridians, with 54% of Floridians giving the Governor a favorable review of his job performance as Florida’s chief executive as he enters the final months of his administration.
Republicans Enter 2026 Elections Holding Leads Over Democrats in Florida
The Florida Chamber’s poll shows that if the election for United States Senate were held today in Florida Senator Ashley Moody would lead Lt. Colonel Alex Vindman by an eight-point margin, 48-40%. In contrast with the ‘gender gap’ sometimes seen in recent elections, Moody leads Vindman among both men and women polled by the Florida Chamber. Vindman, who gained national prominence with many progressive activists for his role in the first impeachment effort against President Trump, capitalized on this notoriety to post strong initial fundraising totals but has yet to see that translate into support within the electorate as a whole.
Testing two possible November matchups for Florida Governor, the Florida Chamber’s statewide poll finds Congressman Byron Donalds holding a solid lead over either potential Democratic opponent. Against former Congressman David Jolly, Donalds leads by eight points, 47-39%, while his lead expands slightly against Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings to nine points, 48-39%. Donalds leads these early ballot tests by having consolidated support from a larger share of his fellow Republicans polled than either Democrat has from their party, as well as through leading among all of the traditionally more reliable voter age groups of 50 and older.
When names are removed and Floridians are asked a generic ballot test by party, similar results are seen. Republicans lead Democrats by seven points, 49-42%, among likely Florida voters when asked which party voters planned to cast a ballot for. This lead is built primarily through a double-digit lead among male voters of 52-39%, but Republicans also hold a one-point lead among female voters in the generic ballot at 46-45%.
Floridians Continue Approval of DeSantis Job Performance
As Governor DeSantis enters the last few months of his second term in office, Floridians continue to give his job performance a favorable evaluation. 54 percent of Floridians said they approve of the way Ron DeSantis has performed as Governor, a net eight-point advantage above those who disapprove that mirrors the prospective 2026 ballot tests seen for this November’s elections.
Use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) Shows Generation and Gender Gap Among Floridians
As debates over the implementation and the future of AI (Artificial Intelligence) continue, the latest Florida Chamber statewide poll shows that how Floridians use these tools is driven in large part by age. Overall, a narrow majority of Floridians (50.5%) say they use AI tools such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini either weekly or daily, while 49% of those polled said they use such tools monthly, rarely, or never.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a strong correlation on how often one uses AI is seen by age. Among all age groups 60 or under, no less than three-fifths of those polled indicated using AI daily or weekly. This pattern flips for those above the age of 60, where majorities of likely voters say they use AI monthly or less often. A gap in AI usage was also found between men and women, with men almost ten points more likely than women to say they use AI tools daily or weekly (55% vs 46%).
Floridians Say Economic and Cost of Living Considerations Top Their List of Key Issues
The Florida Chamber’s poll shows that the top issue voters want elected officials to prioritize is the economy and cost of living. 17 percent of those polled called this their top issue, with Democrats, Republicans, and NPA voters all signaling this as their top issue. Property taxes ranked 2nd among those polled at 11%, followed by property/flood insurance (10%), illegal immigration (8%) and education (8%) rounding out the five most cited issues.
Private Sector Mental Health Leadership Remains Important to Voters
Floridians also displayed a strong preference for businesses that prioritize the mental health and well being of their employees. When asked, 74% of likely Florida voters said they would be more likely to want to work for and/or purchase from a company they knew invested in mental health and wellness programs for their employees and communities, compared to just 6% who said this would make them less likely to work for or patronize a business.
“Florida Chamber member businesses are known for putting the long term over the short term and they know that focusing on making Florida the national leader in behavioral health and overall wellness is good for Florida’s future and great for Floridians, said Mark Wilson, President and CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce. “That important work continues this week as Florida’s private sector leaders gather in Orlando for the Florida Chamber’s Leadership Conference on Safety, Health & Sustainability to unify around strategies to advance the goals of the nation’s first business led mental health report launched two years ago here alongside Michael Phelps, national mental health experts and Florida business leaders.”
Republicans Continue to Dominate Voter Registration in Florida
Republicans continued to expand their registration lead over Democrats. The Republican voter registration lead across Florida now stands at almost 1,500,000 even though Democrats held an outright voter registration advantage as recently as October 2021.
As of the most recent Florida update, Republicans hold a statewide advantage of 1,498,949 voters a lead of 11.2% over Democrats amongst all voters, 5,537,588 Republicans to 4,038,639 Democrats, with NPA and other party registrants comprising almost 30% of all active voters at 3,803,629. Republicans continue to see their statewide registration lead increase month over month, as recent registration trends show Republicans outregistering any other party group as well as NPAs outregistering Democrats in recent months.
Florida Chamber Voter Education and Recruiting Initiatives
Looking ahead to the November 2026 Election, the Florida Chamber will continue to lead the business community’s efforts to recruit and elect better candidates through the Florida Free Enterprise Fund, Florida Chamber Political Institute and the
Florida Institute for Political Leadership. For more information about these initiatives, contact the Florida Chamber’s Executive Vice President of Government & Political Relations Frank Walker at fwalker@flchamber.com.
ABOUT THIS POLL: The Florida Chamber of Commerce political poll was conducted on May 1 – 9, 2026 by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 203 Democrats, 274 Republicans and 127 Others for a total of 604 respondents statewide.