Florida voters don’t like Rick Scott, but they do like his policies.
According to a new poll, 18 solid months of Scott’s people-friendly workday initiatives, frequent public bill signings and friendliness toward media outlets have failed to inspire much personal esteem,
The Miami Herald reported.
Scott’s positive name recognition remains low, with 37 percent viewing him unfavorably, 30 percent neutral, and 29 percent viewing him favorably, in the poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling Research for the Herald and four other Florida news outlets.
When asked, 51 percent of likely voters disapprove of Scott's job performance, with only 40 percent approving and 9 percent not sure.
But while they don't seem to like the governor personally, they sure like his policies. By 54 percent to 35 they approve of his efforts to purge voters' lists of aliens and by 82 percent to 13 they agree that voters should show identification at the polls.
Interviews with respondents showed broad support for his policies on immigration and welfare, as well, the Herald reported.
"It’s a charisma gap," pollster Brad Coker told the Herald. "He doesn’t turn even Republican voters on the same way that [former Gov.] Jeb Bush did."
"There’s a certain stiffness to him and he doesn’t seem like a natural communicator. You can be an actor and memorize your lines ... but if you don’t come across well on camera, it doesn’t really matter. There’s just something not there."
That could be bad news for Scott. On Saturday the Tampa Bay Times reported that Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is considering challenging him at the next election bringing the possibility of a high-profile name backed by a well-funded campaign.
Demographically, the poll found that women disapprove of the governor more than men — 56 percent disapproval versus 45 — and that one in four Republicans disapprove of Scott’s performance.
The poll among 800 likely voters has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
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