A new poll in Florida is getting attention because it shows pro-abortion President Barack Obama faring poorly among all voters and pro-life former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin trailing Republicans.
The new Sachs/Mason Dixon poll has Obama with measly approval numbers as just 43 percent approve of his performance, while 56% don’t. The results have Obama losing to Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee in potential matchups for the 2012 presidential election. Only 34 percent of independent voters in Florida approve of Obama’s performance.
Obama would lose to Romney 49-43 percent among Florida voters while he would trail Huckabee 49-44 percent with all voters polled. On the other hand, Obama leads Palin 51-39 percent and he leads Donald Trump, who recently explained his newfound pro-life views, by a 48-40 percentage point margin.
Pollster Ron Sachs talked about the difficult standing of Obama in Florida, saying, “President Obama’s hopes for re-election will either be warmed or eclipsed by the ‘Sunshine State. Already, it’s clear that he has considerable work to do to make his incumbency an asset, rather than a liability, in a Florida that has drifted more conservative than even four years ago.”
The Mason Dixon poll also examined how the potential Republican presidential candidates fare with Florida Republican voters — important because the state is one of the early contests that will ultimately decide the nominee, following Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
In a potential Republican primary, Romney leads with 23 percent support among Florida GOP voters, Huckabee has the support of 18 percent and Trump has the support of 13 percent.
New Gingrich, the pro-life former House Speaker, has the support of 11 percent while pro-life former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty now receives the support of 8 percent — showing him moving up among Republican voters as more people learn more about him.
Palin trails other Republicans with just 5 percent of the potential vote, putting her just above Mitch Daniels, the Indiana governor who gets 4 percent, and Ron Paul, the former presidential candidate who gets 3 percent. Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum receive a small percentage of support from Florida Republicans.
The polling results are consistent with a Quinnipiac University survey released last week showing Obama with just a 44 percent approval rating and indicating half of Florida voters say they don’t believe he deserves to be re-elected.
The poll surveyed 800 registered Florida voters from April 4-7 and carries a sampling error of 3.5 percentage points. For the Republican primary breakdown, the poll surveyed 400 Republicans and carries a sampling error of 5 percentage points.
