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Governors Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott have suffered a decline in their popularity ratings over the last few weeks, according to a survey conducted by Morning Consult. The poll was conducted to 4,174 registered Florida voters and 3,041 Texas registered voters, and it shows that DeSantis and Abbott has a 48% of approval, while a similar number of respondents also disapprove of their governors job performance.
DeSantis had enjoyed a 54% approval rating during the beginning of July, while Governor Abbott had a 51% approval from Texan voters. The Florida governor has suffered a drop in popularity among Independents, who went from supporting the governor by a 50-32 margin to disapproving of him in a 51-40 margin, Abbott has suffered a similar fate with the percentage of Independents who disapprove of him increasing from 48% to 54%.
A survey from StPetesPolls also confirms the drop in popularity of Governor DeSantis, with the survey showing that 48.5% of respondents disapprove of the job performance of the governor and only 43.7% approve of him. A poll by the University of Texas-Austin also shows a similar negative trend for Abbott, with 50% of respondents disapproving of his job and only 41% of respondents approving of his job performance.
Although both Abbott and DeSantis have enjoyed an overall positive net approval rating throughout the year, it appears that the latest surge in COVID-19 cases in the state has eroded some of his support among the crucial voting bloc of Independents. Wether the governors would be able to recover that lost support remains to be seen.
Not all is bad news for Governor DeSantis, however, with a BUSR poll showing that the rising star of the GOP is currently beating all Democratic candidates for the gubernatorial election next year. According to the survey, DeSantis would beat former governor Charlie Crist in a tight race with the former polling at 46% to Crist’s 43%, the same survey also shows DeSantis comfortably defeating democratic precandidate Nikki Fried by a 50%-40% margin.
Although there has not been much polling lately on the Texas gubernatorial race of next year, a University of Texas at Tyler/ Dallas Morning News poll shows that the governor is safely beating primary challenger Don Huffins by more than 20 points, and he is also beating failed Democratic Senatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke by a similar margin.
Although the elections are a year away and both Abbott and DeSantis have previously enjoyed wide approval from their electors, the latest polling numbers show that their reelections are still far from a sure thing and both governors will have to act quickly to recover their healthy approval numbers.
Daniel is a Political Science and Economics student from the University of South Florida. He worked as a congressional intern to Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) from January to May 2020. He also is the head of international analysis at Politiks // Daniel es un estudiante de Cs Políticas y Economía en la Universidad del Sur de la Florida. Trabajo como pasante legislativo para el Representate Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) desde enero hasta mayo del 2020. Daniel también es el jefe de análisis internacional de Politiks.