Americans overwhelmingly side with Florida under the leadership of GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis versus New York under the pandemic leadership of former Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a new poll revealed.
In fact, even likely New York GOP primary voters side overwhelmingly with DeSantis-run Florida over the Cuomo-led state, according to a Citizens Awareness Project (CAP) poll obtained by Newsmax.
The pollster found 92% of likely Republican primary voters nationwide would choose to live in "Florida, under the leadership of Ron DeSantis" if they had a choice during the COVID-19 pandemic as opposed to "New York, under the leadership of Andrew Cuomo" (just 8%).
An overwhelming 78% of New York's likely GOP primary voters would prefer DeSantis-run Florida to Cuomo's New York, looking back on the COVID-19 pandemic response, according to the poll.
Just 22% of New York's own likely GOP primary voters would prefer Cuomo's response.
Other findings of like GOP primary voters nationwide in the poll, which has yet to be made public:
- 89% say the country is on the "wrong track."
- 9% say the country is heading in the "right direction."
- 2% were unsure.
Citizens Awareness Project, a 501(C)(4), was founded in 2012 "to educate citizens and public officials on issues of public policy," according to its website.
All of the pollsters' recent surveys conducted this spring and released publicly were done in key battleground states.
The CAP poll was conducted May 31-June 1 among 500 likely Republican primary voters nationwide and 100 likely New York Republican primary voters. No margin of error was given for the results viewed by Newsmax.
The survey date suggests the poll was structured in response to former President Donald Trump's criticism of DeSantis' handling of the pandemic and the New York Post editorial board suggesting Trump was praising Cuomo versus his GOP primary challenger.
"I never praised former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as the dying New York Post is suggesting," Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday. "I thought he was a horrible governor, and have made that point for years. He was the enemy, and I would rip his fake (Sanctimonious?) news conference's apart. I did a lot to help New York, but he didn't even use the Convention Center or Medical Ship. Crazy!
"But as bad as he was, all I said was that New York (4th worst) had fewer actual COVID deaths than DeSanctus run Florida (3rd worst). Those are the facts!"
It should be noted, COVID was widely reported to be far more deadly for elderly and immune-compromised populations. Florida is famously a retirement state with an older population.
Also, as the Post board wrote in the editorial: "On the most basic measure of COVID outcomes, age-adjusted deaths, Florida did far better than New York: Per the CDC, the Sunshine State saw 245 deaths per 100,000 residents, New York almost 312."
Still, Trump bashed the Post for going anti-Trump like Fox News.
"Has anybody noticed how badly the New York Post is doing since going anti-Trump?" Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. "A beautiful thing to see!"
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.