BOCA RATON, Fla. — The latest poll out of Florida shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading 53 percent to President Trump’s 47 percent, however, the same poll found 53 percent of Florida voters still think Trump will win re-election.
The poll, released Friday by Florida Atlantic University, is a reversal from a previous FAU poll that had Trump leading Biden earlier in the year, before Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee.
While Biden leads overall, there are some warning signs for the former Vice President. The FAU poll found Trump supporters much more enthusiastic, with 78 percent saying they were excited to vote for their candidate, versus just 64 percent for Biden.
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Independent voters, which Trump carried in Florida with 47 percent in 2016 according to a CNN exit poll, are this time backing Biden. The FAU poll found Biden ahead by 2 points at 41 percent to Trump’s 39 percent.
“While Joe Biden does not seem to generate the enthusiasm that past candidates have garnered, it might not matter,” said Kevin Wagner, Ph.D., a professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow of the Initiative. “Many Democrats seem motivated by the desire to defeat President Trump.”
President Trump has also seen his support for his handling of COVID-19 slip. The FAU poll found 45 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, while 45 percent disapproved. The President’s approval rating stands at 43 percent down from 49 percent and his disapproval stands at 46 percent, up from 41 percent in March.
Also slipping in this poll was Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor received a 51 percent approval rating, down 3 points since March. The governor’s approval rating is higher than his rating for his handling of COVID-19. Voters gave DeSantis a 49 percent approval and 36 percent disapproval for handling of the outbreak.
The survey of 928 registered Florida voters was conducted May 8-12.
The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.