Poor Biden Florida approval rating ‘creating headwinds’ for Demings: pollsters

President Biden’s “continued unpopularity” in Florida is “creating headwinds” for Democratic Senate candidate Val Demings, pollsters with Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy found.

Biden has a 42% approval rating in the Sunshine State, according to a new Mason-Dixon poll. Demings is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.

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The polling firm reached out to 800 registered Florida voters likely to cast a ballot in the 2022 midterms. 

Approximately 54% of poll respondents reported being unhappy with Biden’s performance as president. Approximately 4% of respondents said they did not feel strongly either way. 

Mason-Dixon found Rubio leading Demings 47% to 41%.

“Despite millions of dollars spent on advertising by both campaigns, little seems to have changed since February when Rubio led 49%-42%,” the pollsters wrote.

According to the poll of likely voters conducted by Spectrum News/Siena College, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads his Democratic opponent, Congressman Charlie Crist, 49% to 41%, while Rubio lead Demings 48% to 41%.

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Notably, strong majorities of Latino voters also favored the Republican candidates by double digits, with DeSantis garnering 53% support to Crist’s 37% and Rubio with 55% support to Demings’ 32%.

A different Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy survey showed Crist trailing DeSantis by 11 points.

Crist, a former governor of Florida, is attempting to return to the governor’s mansion after serving from 2007 to 2011. The former Republican – who switched parties in 2012 – was a Democratic representative serving Florida’s 13th Congressional District but resigned from Congress after winning his party’s nomination for governor. 

The survey was conducted Sept. 28, as Hurricane Ian was putting the Sunshine State in the national news cycle. In an NBC News report, Coker suggested Crist is at a disadvantage because he wasn’t in office during the deadly storm.