Floridians have forgiven Gov. Ron DeSantis for taking time out of his second term to challenge Donald Trump’s hold on the GOP.
That’s the good news from new new polling released by Morning Consult.
America’s Governor “garnered his best numbers since he launched his failed campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination two years ago,” the pollsters postulated.
“The latest figures show 53% of Floridians approve and 42% disapprove, marking a 5-point improvement in his net approval rating since a campaign-era low.”
DeSantis has been above water his entire six years in office, though he saw his nadir the latter half of 2020, when the state struggled with the pandemic, high unemployment and a failing unemployment assistance website. He was at +1 and +2 in the Fall and Winter quarters, respectively.
He likely wishes he enjoyed the popularity of his colleague to the north, Brian Kemp of the Peach State.
“More Georgia voters than ever (63%) approve of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), marking a major improvement from a 2021 low (47%) after he defended the state’s electoral process from Donald Trump following the 2020 election.”
However, DeSantis is more closely comparable to former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz of Minnesota.
The Democratic running mate of Kamala Harris “emerged unscathed from his 2024 vice presidential bid. The majority of voters in his state (55%) approve of his job performance, similar to the 54% who did so before he ran, and the share with unfavorable views (41%) nearly matches the 40% who did so in the second quarter of 2024.”
Closing on a positive note, DeSantis’ overall +11 rating compares favorably to Gavin Newsom, the scion of the Golden State who is being singed by conservative media over his handling of wildfires in the City of Angels. The Democrat, who DeSantis “debated” when he was running for President, is at +10.
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