When Vice President Joe Biden cross-crossed the I-4 corridor 15 days ago for a couple of fundraisers for Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, he quipped that," As goes Bill Nelson in Florida, go Barack Obama and Joe Biden in Florida."
But a new Quinnipiac poll released early Thursday morning begs to differ with the V.P.'s political analysis. The survey shows that a majority of Floridians disapprove of the President's policies by a 52 percent margin, with 44 percent showing approval. An unknown generic Republican would best the former Illinois Senator in the critical swing state of Florida next year, though the numbers are extremely close there (41-38 percent in favor of a Republican). But by a 9 percent margin (51 to 42 percent), those surveyed say Obama simply doesn't deserve a 2nd term in office.
Those figures contrast with Senator Nelson, who will face re-election at the same time towards a third six-year term. He has a 47-26 percent appoval rating, leads any Republican (none named in the poll) by a narrow 43-39 percent lead, and 8 percent (43-35) believe he does deserve another six years in office. Not awesome numbers, but then in most competitive states, few Democrats have large leads at this time, and in this center-right Sunshine State, Nelson can't be displeased with those results.
Most interesting however, is where the majority of Floridians are on some major national issues of the moment. Perhaps the biggest one is, as we approach the 1st anniversary of the BP oil spill, is that a majority of Florida citizens surveyed say that by a 60-35 percent margin, they support offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. However, let's look at how the question was asked:
In general, do you support or oppose the United States increasing the amount of drilling for oil and natural gas in offshore waters?
The question does not differentiate between state and federal waters, but it really should. I will assume it means federal waters, which is not good news for Bill Nelson, Kathy Castor, and all of those who oppose such drilling anywhere within a couple of hundred miles off Florida's Gulf Coast.
This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2011.
