Florida voters divided on the urgency - and means - of dealing with deficit

But voters are united in perception of a highly biased tax code

We have a fascinating set of responses to share from our latest statewide survey of likely general election voters in Florida. Our survey focused on America’s fiscal woes and the importance of addressing the national budget deficit. As expected, almost every respondent we interviewed said that balancing the federal budget was at least somewhat important for America’s economic future. Only 2% of the voters we interviewed stated that dealing with the national deficit was not at all important for our future.

However, in the very next question, when asked whether or not deficit spending was necessary to grow the American economy, 30% of respondents stated that such spending was in fact necessary, while 61% said the economy could be boosted without deficit spending. Predictably, Republicans were far more likely to agree that deficit spending was not necessary to boost the economy. But 60% of Independent voters disagreed with the necessity for deficit spending, while just a 49% plurality of Democratic voters believed deficit spending was necessary.

We see similar numbers when voters are asked if raising revenue or cutting spending should be the primary focus of Congress or…Read More

Romney leads in home stretch to Florida presidential primary

Romney 40%, Gingrich 30%, Santorum 16%, Paul 8%

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney leads former House Speaker and Georgia Congressman Newt Gingrich by ten points in Viewpoint Florida’s weekend survey for tomorrow’s Presidential Preference Primary in Florida.

Governor Romney earns support from 40% of respondents in our survey, while 30% of respondents said they would vote for Speaker Gingrich. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum stands out as the most liked Republican in the field, with a net +27% favorability rating among respondents (58%-31%). But his likability translates to a distant third place showing, with 16% support in our ballot test. Texas Congressman Ron Paul places fourth with 8%, and is by far the least liked candidate in the field, sporting a 61% unfavorable rating to just 30% of respondents who view him favorably.

Looking into our crosstabs, Governor Romney’s lead cuts across major demographic groups, as he leads Speaker Gingrich in all age categories and in every region of the state except for the I-10 corridor region of Florida. There does not appear to be a significant gender gap on the ballot test, as Romney’s lead with women is just 3 points higher than his support amongst men. Romney’s 46%-32%…Read More

Florida voters happy to see debt ceiling deal, unhappy with politicians who made the deal

Viewpoint Florida’s latest survey shows that likely voters in Florida seem very content with the passage of a deal in Congress to raise the national debt ceiling.

We asked likely voters if they would be more or less likely to re-elect their Congressman if they knew s/he voted for a plan passed last week that raised the debt ceiling. 58% of respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a Congressman who backed the deal, while just 36% said they would be less likely to support such a Congressman. When testing the intensity of these positions, ‘much more likely’ leads the ‘much less likely’ position by 10 points (26%-16%).

Republicans and Democrats were equally likely to be supportive of a Congressman who backed last week’s debt ceiling deal, with 59% of respondents in both parties saying they would be more likely to re-elect a Congressman who supported the measure. Independent voters were slightly more likely to oppose their member of Congress if s/he voted for the debt deal.

But despite the favorable impressions of the debt ceiling legislation and the members of Congress who backed it, voters have little good to say about the parties who put the…Read More