9 in 10 Floridians Say They Are ‘Extremely’ Motivated to Vote in Midterms

Nine out of ten Floridians say they are “extremely” motivated to vote in this year’s midterm elections, an AARP survey released this week found.

The motivation to head to the polls this November comes as Floridians are not happy with the direction of the country, 76 percent saying it is headed in the wrong direction. Further, 53 percent say the U.S. economy is not working for them, and an even greater percentage, 63 percent, are concerned about their own financial situation in President Biden’s America.

These frustrations do not appear to be a reflection of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) leadership, though, as his job rating stands at 52-47. Further, he leads his Democrat challenger, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), by three percentage points. 

The motivation to vote in this year’s election appears to benefit Republicans, overall, as the GOP has a slight edge on the generic congressional ballot in Florida, 48 percent to 46 percent. 

In the governor’s race, specifically, voters aged 50 and over identify inflation and rising prices as the most important issue in deciding their vote — 19 percent. Jobs and the economy place second with 14 percent, followed by abortion (12 percent), immigration and border security (9 percent), and voting rights (8 percent). Notably, inflation, jobs, and the economy stand as the top issues for Republicans and independents 50+, while abortion and voting rights are the top issues for Democrats 50+ in the governor’s race.

Similarly, voters aged 50 and over identified inflation and rising prices as the top issue in the state’s Senate race between Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), followed by social security and Medicare, as well as taxes, government spending, and debt. Sen. Rubio leads his challenger in this survey by two percentage points. 

The survey was taken August 24-31 among a statewide representative example of 500 likely Florida voters and has a +/- 4.4 percent margin of error.