Poll: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Comfortably Leads Potential Democrat Opponents

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) enjoys a comfortable lead over his potential Democrat opponents in the general election, according to a poll.

The University of North Florida poll released Tuesday shows DeSantis beating the two leading candidates in the Democratic primary in potential general election gubernatorial matchups.

DeSantis holds an eight point lead among registered voters in a race against former Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) in the gubernatorial race. DeSantis secured 50 percent of the response while Crist, a former Florida governor, garnered 42 percent. Only six percent said they plan to vote for someone else, while 2 percent were either undecided or declined to answer.

The results were nearly identical in a contest between DeSantis and Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried. Again, 50 percent of respondents backed DeSantis, while Fried fared slightly better than Crist, earning 43 percent of the response.

Fried and Crist square off in the Democratic primary on August 23. The current poll shows Fried up four points on Crist at 47 percent and 43 percent, respectively. Neither of the other two candidates in the poll eclipsed five percent, and another six percent of respondents either remained undecided or declined to answer.

DeSantis, who is vying for a second term as governor, spoke at Turning Point USA’s “Unite and Win” rally on Sunday to support Arizona Trump-endorsed candidates Kari Lake – the GOP gubernatorial nominee – and Blake Masters – the U.S. Senatorial nominee. The Florida governor declared that election night in November is when “America fights back.”

November 8, 2022, is going to be the day that America fights back. We’re going to be fighting back against Joe Biden’s failed leadership. We’re going to be fighting back against lockdown politicians all over this country who ruin people’s lives, and we’re going to be fighting back against a failed congress, which will result in the retirement of Nancy Pelosi.

If you look around this country and you survey the damage and the destruction that’s been done by leftist politicians in cities and states all around the country, the fact of the matter is when leftist government takes hold, society flounders, crime goes up. You have homeless, you have drugs, you have higher taxes.

He added, “We have not let that happen in the state of Florida. I’m proud to say we have made it the free state of Florida.”

The poll also gauged President Joe Biden’s approval rating in the Sunshine State. Of respondents, just 38 percent approved of his presidential performance to varying degrees, while 59 percent disapproved, with half the registered voters (50 percent) strongly disapproving.

The poll sampled 1,624 registered voters from August 8-14 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.