Biden’s job performance, DeSantis’ reelection, a race for the U.S. Senate seat and Hurricane Ian

In a new poll Tuesday, a majority of Florida voters surveyed disapproved of President Joe Biden’s job performance, with pollsters suggesting that it could negatively impact Democrats, such as U.S. Rep. Val Demings in her race against incumbent U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

“The continued unpopularity of President Joe Biden is also creating head-winds for Demings,” according to Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy.

The new numbers come as Biden visits Florida Wednesday, following dozens of deaths and a swath of destruction from Hurricane Ian. The president and First Lady Jill Biden are scheduled to arrive at 12:45 p.m. at the Southwest Florida Regional Airport Arrival in Ft. Myers.

Overall, 54 percent of Florida voters surveyed “continue to disapprove of Biden’s performance,” and, “this has also changed little since the beginning of the year,” the pollsters wrote based on February and September 2022 figures. In February, 40 percent of voters approved Biden’s performance; In September, the figure was 42 percent.

A total of 800 registered voters in the state were interviewed by telephone from September 26-28, according to the poll. It focused on the U.S Senate race between Demings and GOP incumbent Rubio, but the poll included questions related to Biden’s job performance.

Meanwhile, Biden’s job approval rating is high among Black voters in Florida, with 81 percent saying they approve of his job performance. Among Hispanic voters, 46 percent approve of Biden in office. However, only 33 percent of white voters in the poll approved of his job performance.

Steve Schale is a Democratic strategist and was executive director of a pro-Joe Biden super PAC called “Unite the Country” in 2020.

As to Biden’s planned visit to Florida Wednesday, Schale said in an interview:

“Biden’s a pretty-old school guy. I think he very much comes from that school that we’ll fight all day long and then let’s go get dinner at night.

I think for him it’s sort of putting down swords to figure out how to solve this problem.

To his credit, I think (Gov. Ron) DeSantis recognizes the fact that it’s going to take a state and federal partnership to rebuild Fort Myers.

If you just want to take the raw politics of it, working together is probably good for both of them. ‘Success’ in terms of recovering people, getting the community back on its feet, getting the thing pointed in the right direction to rebuild the community – they both win from that.

And if it doesn’t happen, they both lose from that. And so, the entire incentive structure is built around the two of them collaborating and cooperating and I think that’s what you’ve seen.

As a moderate who fashions himself as one of the few bipartisan people left around, I think it’s a very healthy thing.”

Meanwhile, Rubio has a six-point advantage over Demings, with 47 percent of those surveyed supporting Rubio and 41 percent for Demings. Two percent support other candidates in that race, while ten percent are undecided.

Rubio, who is a Latino seeking a third term in the Senate, is tied with Demings in support from Hispanic voters in the state. Overall, 45 percent support both Rubio and Demings, a Black woman and former Orlando police chief.

Among Black voters in the state, Demings has more support, with 79 percent compared to Rubio’s 9 percent. As to white voters in the poll, 54 percent supported Rubio, while 33 percent supported Demings.

Devon Cruz, Demings’ campaign press secretary, said in an email to the Florida Phoenix: “Chief Demings is running to represent all Floridians, while Marco Rubio continues to fail them every chance he gets.”