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New Florida Chamber Statewide Poll Shows Governor Ron DeSantis Holding Commanding Lead over Charlie Crist

Inflation/Gas Prices Joins Jobs/the Economy and Education as Top Policy Priorities for Florida Voters

The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll shows Governor Ron DeSantis with a commanding 11% lead (53:42) over Charlie Crist. The lead is buoyed by strength among Hispanics, NPAs and women.

Governor DeSantis benefits from 88% support from Republicans and a 17% lead (54:37) support from NPAs.

Governor DeSantis also enjoys a 22% lead among Hispanics (59:37) and a 3% lead among women (49:46).

Nearly half of likely Florida voters believe Florida is headed in the right direction (50:40), while at the same time a majority of voters (70:21), 7 out of 10, believe the country is on the wrong track. Hispanic voters are optimistic about Florida (53:41), while NPAs are even more optimistic (51:33).

In addition, voters in seven of Florida’s 10 media markets believe Florida is headed in the right direction, with only two believing otherwise: Miami-Fort Lauderdale (44:48) and Tallahassee (29:50).

“The Florida Chamber Political Operations team regularly analyzes ChamberHub, the Florida Chamber’s voter file, to recognize trends in Florida’s changing electorate.

“Florida’s economics, demographics and politics continue changing,” said Florida Chamber President & CEO Mark Wilson. “This new Florida Chamber poll shows likely Florida voters are more confident in Florida than in the nation. With the 2022 General Election two weeks away, it is essential to elect pro-jobs candidates to make sure the right things keep happening in Florida as we grow from the 16th to the 10th largest global economy by 2030.”

Essential Issues Heading into the November General Election

Inflation and food prices are a top concern for Florida voters with 68% saying it is a major issue heading into the November election. There is a partisan lens where 85% of Republicans and 69% of NPAs call the issue critically important while only 51% of Democrats feel the same way. Almost three fourths of Hispanic voters, which makes up nearly 18% of Florida’s registered voters, also believe inflation and food prices are a top concern heading into November.

Gas prices are a major concern for Florida voters with six out of 10 Florida voters believing it is a critically important issue before the November General election. Again, Republicans (70%) and NPAs (54%) see the issues as critically important, but Democrats (39%) see it as a less important issue.

Florida Likely Voters Believe:

Top Issues Facing Florida

  1. Jobs and the Economy
  2. Inflation/Gas Prices
  3. Education
  4. Immigration

Top Issues by Demographic

  • Female Voters Top Issue is Education
  • Male Voters Top Issue is Jobs & the Economy
  • Republicans Top Issue is Jobs & the Economy
  • Democrats Top Issue is Education
  • NPAs Top Issue is Jobs & the Economy

Job Approval Numbers

The Florida Chamber poll also found that Governor Ron DeSantis has high job approval numbers, while President Joe Biden’s job approval numbers have plummeted.

More than half of voters (56%) approve of the job Ron DeSantis is doing as Governor, with 90% of Republicans and 56% of NPAs approving of his job as Governor. The Governor has an overwhelming approval amongst Hispanic voters with 61% approving of his performance and only 32% disapproving.

President Joe Biden’s numbers are quite the opposite, with 56% of voters disapproving of the job he is doing as President. Almost all Republicans (90%) and 60% of NPAs disapprove of President Biden’s performance as President. The President has an approval rating of only 35% among Hispanic voters, with 61% disapproving of his performance.

Gubernatorial Head-to-Head

The Florida Chamber poll also found that Governor Ron DeSantis is in a strong position. He holds a solid lead over Charlie Crist heading into his re-election campaign.

Governor DeSantis enjoys an 11% lead (53:42) over former Governor Charlie Crist, benefiting from 88% support from Republicans and a 17% lead (54:37) support from NPAs.

Governor DeSantis enjoys a 3% lead among women (49:46) and a 22% lead among Hispanics (59:37).

Governor DeSantis leads in eight of Florida’s ten media markets.

Cabinet Head-to-Heads

The Florida Chamber poll also found that Republican candidates for the Cabinet all are in a strong position to be elected in the General Election.

Attorney General Ashley Moody is in a commanding position to be re-elected as Attorney General, where she enjoys a 15% lead (51:36) over Aramis Ayala.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is in a strong position as well to be re-elected as Chief Financial Officer, where he enjoys a 10% lead (47:37) over Adam Hattersley.

In the only open seat on the Cabinet, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson is in a strong position to be elected Commissioner of Agriculture, where leads (48:37) over Naomi Blemur.

Florida Voter Registration Update

Republicans continue to expand their registration lead over Democrats. As of the most recent Florida update, Republicans hold a statewide advantage of 298,736 voters over Democrats among active registered voters, 5,277,394 Republicans to 4,971,444 Democrats, with NPA and other party registrants comprising 29% (an increase of 2% since the 2020 Election) of all active voters at 4,255,198. The 2022 Florida General election will be the first statewide election in Florida’s history conducted where there are more Republicans registered to vote than Democrats, and the Republican registration advantage continues to grow by roughly 20,000 voters per month.  Since the 2020 General Election, Republicans have added 440,192 more voters than Democrats.

Since the 2020 General election, voter data from ChamberHub, the Florida Chamber’s exclusive voter file, also shows:

  • Democrat’s share of active registered voters has declined in every county in Florida
  • Republican share of active registration has increased in 56 of 67 counties
  • NPA registration share has increased in all of Florida’s 67 counties

Florida Chamber Voter Education and Recruiting Initiatives Heading into the 2022 Elections

The Florida Chamber leads initiatives such as the Florida Free Enterprise Fund, Florida Chamber Political Institute and the Florida Institute for Political Leadership, which all work to ensure we’re recruiting better candidates for Florida and helping them get elected. For more information about these initiatives, contact the Florida Chamber’s Vice President of Political Operations Nicholas Catroppo at ncatroppo@flchamber.com.

ABOUT THIS POLL: The Florida Chamber of Commerce political poll was conducted on October 13 – 23, 2022 by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 244 Democrats, 250 Republicans and 107 Others for a total of 601 respondents statewide.

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