The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll finds a plurality (47%) of Florida voters believe things in Florida are headed in the right direction, while almost 8 out of 10 (77%) believe the United States is heading in the wrong direction.
Florida has created 19,600 jobs in the last month and 241,200 jobs in the past year. The Sunshine State’s rolling annual growth rate of 2.5%, which is nearly a half a percent higher than the national level. Looking back over the last year, Florida created 1 in 13 U.S. jobs, while similarly sized New York created only 1 in 20 jobs. The unemployment rate in Florida at 2.8% is lower than other states with similar-sized and even larger state economies (the unemployment rate in California is at 4.7%, Texas is at 4.1% and New York is at 4%).
“Florida voters remain concerned about the direction of our country along with poor federal economic policies out of the Biden White House while being far more optimistic about Florida’s track,” said Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson. “The fact is Florida remains a growth leader nationally in job creation and population migration, and as we conclude our annual ‘Future of Florida Forum,’ I remain convinced Florida is a stock worth buying with the Florida 2030 Blueprint serving as the map for continuing that momentum.”
President Joe Biden’s Economic Policies Are Not Viewed Favorably
The Florida Chamber poll shows more than half (55%) of Florida voters believe President Joe Biden’s economic policies have made America’s economy worse, while only 31% believe President Biden’s economic policies have made it better.
Almost all (91%) of Republicans believe President Biden’s economic policies have made America’s economy worse, while only 34% of NPAs and 26% of Hispanics believe President Biden’s economic policies have made America’s economy better.
The Financial Situation of Floridians is Worse Than it Was a Year Ago
The Florida Chamber poll shows almost half (46%) of Florida voters say their family personal finances are worse off than they were at the same time last year, while only 19% say their finances are better off.
More than 6 out of 10 (66%) of Republicans say they are worse off financially than they were at the same time last year, while only 18% of Hispanics and 23% of NPAs say they are better off financially than they were at the same time last year.
The Florida Chamber poll also found more than 6 out of 10 (65%) of Florida voters believe President Joe Biden does not deserve to be re-elected President.
More than 7 out of 10 (73%) of Hispanics, 60% of NPAs and even 34% of Democrats do not believe President Biden deserves to be re-elected President.
Florida Likely Voters Believe:
Top Issues Facing Florida
- Property Insurance
- Illegal Immigration
- Education
- Job Creation & the Economy
Top Issues by Demographic
- Female Voters Top Issue is Education
- Male Voters Top Issue is Property Insurance
- Republicans Top Issue is Illegal Immigration
- Democrats Top Issue is Education
- NPAs Top Issue is Property Insurance
Republicans continued to expand their registration lead over Democrats. Since our last poll, the Republican voter registration lead has surpassed the half million mark even though Democrats held an outright voter registration advantage only two years ago (October 2021).
“Florida is changing. Our economics, our demographics and as we see, our politics are changing as well,” said Florida Chamber Executive Vice President of Government and Political Relations Frank Walker. “What we have seen over the last two years with voter registration represents a tidal shift in Florida politics as we head into a consequential election year in 2024.”
As of the most recent Florida update, Republicans hold a statewide advantage of 626,518 voters a lead of more than 4% over Democrats amongst all voters, 5,183,078 Republicans to 4,556,560 Democrats, with NPA and other party registrants comprising almost 30% of all active voters at 4,012,567. The Republican registration advantage continues to grow by more than 20,000 voters per month.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce political poll was conducted on October 13 – 20, 2023 by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 236 Democrats, 266 Republicans and 99 Others for a total of 601 respondents statewide.
