Florida Poll: DeSantis, Rubio Lead Democrat Competitors in Hypothetical Matchup

Both Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) would be reelected if the 2022 midterms “were held today,” according to a new survey from St. Pete Polls.

In a hypothetical matchup between DeSantis and his Democrat competitors, the current governor came out on top both times. When put up against former Florida governor and current House member Charlie Crist (D), 50.6 percent of Florida voters voted for DeSantis and 44.8 gave their support to Crist. Between DeSantis and current Florida Department of Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, 51.2 percent of voters chose DeSantis and 42.4 percent chose Fried.

DeSantis led with independent voters, Hispanic voters, men, women, and every age group apart from 30 to 49-year-olds when matched up against both Crist and Fried, according to the survey’s demographic breakdown. Both Democrats led massively with their own party and with black Florida voters.

DeSantis’s results are much more favorable than when St. Pete Polls released a hypothetical matchup survey in August. The survey found that 45 percent of participants would vote for Crist and 44 percent would vote for for DeSantis. The race between DeSantis and Fried was also a lot closer, 45 percent to 42 percent. St. Pete Polls especially underestimated support for DeSantis in 2018 when he was up against Democrat Andrew Gillum, predicting a five point win for Gillum.

Sen. Rubio also led in his own hypothetical matchup against Rep. Val Demings (D-FL). According to the poll, 51 percent of Florida voters would vote for Rubio and 44.3 percent would support Demings if the 2022 election for U.S. Senator from Florida was “held today.” In every demographic category besides black voters, Rubio maintained a steady lead over Demings.

Another poll released in September from Redfield & Wilton Strategies also forecasted both DeSantis and Rubio leading their Democrat competitors. The survey  showed that DeSantis led both Crist and Fried by 10 percentage points (48 percent to 38 percent). Rubio led Demings 48 percent to 36 percent.

The poll was conducted with 2,896 Florida voters from Nov. 18-19, and has a 1.8 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level.