TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (August 28, 2025) – The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll finds more than 8 out of 10 (85%) of Florida voters have a favorable opinion of local businesses, which are the foundation of our economy. Additionally, 84% of Florida voters trust in business and 79% trust private sector charities and non-profits. Conversely, trust in the media is evenly divided with 48% trusting the media and another 48% having no trust in the media at all. Clearly, not all media is perceived equally, and these results suggest voters do maintain personal favorite outlets and mediums.
“Florida local business leaders do far more than create jobs, pay taxes and innovate, they give back through countless volunteer hours and investing in their communities through charities and non-profits,” said Mark Wilson, President & CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce. “So, it is no surprise to see how positively voters see these local business leaders who are also community and state leaders.”
Historic Lawsuit Abuse Reform Remains Popular Among Florida Voters
In 2023, Florida Chamber-backed landmark lawsuit abuse reform was passed to address the frivolous litigation problem in Florida. Two years later, Floridians continue to strongly support the lawsuit abuse reforms passed and they want more. Only 11% of voters polled believe lawsuit abuse reform passed in 2023 went too far, while more than three times as many Floridians expressed support for additional efforts to rein in frivolous litigation in Florida. Greater support for doing more to rein in frivolous litigation versus returning to the previous legal climate that saw Florida rated a “judicial hellhole” proved universal, as every race/ethnicity, gender, and party affiliation surveyed expressed stronger support for further lawsuit abuse reform. This comes as Florida’s homeowners and auto insurance markets continue to show signs of stabilization as more private sector competitions flows into Florida providing customers more choice and downward pressure on rates.
Florida voters believe the personal injury trial lawyers who advertise on billboards and television are more interested in making money than in protecting the rights of people. Only 11% of voters polled believe the personal injury trial lawyers who advertise on billboards and television are more interested in protecting the rights of people, while 74% say they are more interested in making money, including 83% of Republicans and 71% of NPA’s.
Support for Adult Personal Use of Marijuana Continues to Fall Short of 60% Requirement for Passage
The Florida Chamber’s poll also found fewer Florida voters support legalizing recreational marijuana (55%), than a similar recreational marijuana legalization effort achieved at the ballot box in November (56%). This is the seventh consecutive poll from the Florida Chamber indicating this potential amendment remains short of the 60% threshold required for passage. The lack of support from Floridians over the past two years comes despite more than $150 million being spent to try and pass the amendment during the 2024 election, over $145 million of which came from Florida’s largest medicinal marijuana provider. This failure to build momentum for the amendment in polling displays that the more voters learn about legalizing recreational marijuana, the less they like about legalizing marijuana.
Enhanced Premium Tax Credit Extension Supported Across All Party Affiliations and Demographics
The Florida Chamber’s 2030 Blueprint includes a goal of making Florida a top-5 state for overall well-being (currently ranked #19), and a component is accessible and affordable healthcare. When likely voters were asked about their likelihood to support the re-election of their federal lawmaker if they voted to extend enhanced premium tax credits that help with healthcare premium costs and are set to expire at the end of the year, the response was that they were overwhelmingly likely to back supportive lawmakers’ re-election. Support was across all demographics and party affiliations, including amongst NPA’s, who want to see these tax credits extended by a more than 4:1 margin.
Floridians Divided on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”)
The Florida Chamber’s latest poll finds voters in Florida divided on their perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI). When asked their impressions of artificial intelligence, 37% of Floridians responded with a favorable impression and 38% gave an unfavorable impression. This virtual tie in how AI is perceived cuts across party lines, as Democrats, Republicans, and No Party Affiliation voters were all nearly evenly divided in their viewpoint.
Generic Ballot in line with 2024 Election as we look ahead to 2026
While the 2026 general election is still more than a year away, the Florida Chamber’s poll shows Republicans continuing to hold a lead amongst Florida voters similar to the landslide victories seen for Republicans in 2022 and 2024. When asked which party voters are likely to support in 2026, 48% of Floridians indicated their vote would be for a Republican candidate compared to 41% who would support a generic Democratic candidate, which coincides with Republicans growing voter registration lead.
Republicans Continue to Dominate Voter Registration in Florida with a 1.3 Million Voter Advantage
Republicans continued to expand their registration lead over Democrats since the last publicly released Florida Chamber poll. The most recent voter registration update from ChamberHub, the Florida Chamber’s exclusive voter file shows Republicans hold a statewide advantage of 1,327,245 active voters over Democrats. As of July 31, 2025, Florida had 5,499,419 registered Republicans compared to 4,172,174 registered Democrats and 3,850,499 registered as NPAs or members of minor parties. This gives Republicans a lead of almost 10% of all registered voters over Democrats in Florida. Since the 2022 general election, Republicans have increased their share of the active electorate in all 67 counties while Democrats have lost registration share in all 67 counties over the same time period.
Florida Chamber Voter Education and Recruiting Initiatives
Looking ahead to the 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 August 13 – 24, 2025, by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 216 Democrats, 263 Republicans and 121 others for a total of 600 respondents statewide.