Press Release for Thursday, October 9, 2014
UNF Poll Reveals Crist Leads in Florida Governor Race
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Media Contact: Joanna Norris, Director
Department of Public Relations
(904) 620-2192
A new University of North Florida statewide poll reveals Charlie Crist has a five percentage point lead, head to head, over Gov. Rick Scott-47 to 42 percent among likely Florida voters-in the gubernatorial race. In the three-way race, Crist leads 43 to 38 percent, with Adrian Wyllie garnering 10 percent of the vote. In addition, 41 percent of likely voters polled approve of how Scott is handling his job as Florida's governor, while 54 percent disapprove.
Sixty-seven percent of likely voters polled responded that they would vote "yes" for Amendment 2, allowing the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician. This is in stark contrast to the percentage of likely voters polled who support allowing adults in Florida to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, which is 44 percent.
Forty-six percent of likely voters believe that the economy, jobs and unemployment is the most important problem facing Florida today.
The survey was conducted between Monday, Sept. 29, and Wednesday, Oct. 8, and includes 471 likely voters (+/- 4.74 percent). Approximately 261 trained student interviewers from UNF's political science classes participated in the data collection.
The survey was conducted by the Public Opinion Research Laboratory's (PORL) 27-polling stations at UNF. Through the use of Random-Digit-Dialing methodology, the PORL proportionally sampled the 10 media markets in the state. In addition, a cell phone sample and an overlay sample were used to increase representation of the state of Florida. Age, gender, race, education and party registration were weighted to the 2014 U.S. Census, as well as to statistics from the Florida Division of Elections for party registration.
Below are the full results. For further information or questions about the methodology, contact Dr. Michael Binder, UNF assistant professor of political science and PORL faculty director, at (904) 620-1205 or m.binder@unf.edu.
Sample
Answer |
Number |
Florida Residents
|
788
|
Registered Voters
|
671
|
Likely Voters
|
471
|
If the election for governor were being held today, whom would you vote for between Rick Scott the republican and Charlie Crist the democrat?
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 402 |
Rick Scott
|
42%
|
Charlie Crist
|
47%
|
Someone Else
|
2%
|
DK (Don’t Know)
|
9%
|
If the election for governor were being held today, whom would you vote for between Rick Scott the republican, Charlie Crist the democrat and Adrian Wyllie the libertarian?
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 406 |
Rick Scott
|
38%
|
Charlie Crist
|
43%
|
Adrian Wyllie
|
10%
|
Someone Else
|
<1%
|
DK
|
8%
|
Amendment 2 on the statewide ballot in November is called "Use of Marijuana for Certain Medical Conditions." This amendment allows the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician. If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no for this proposition?
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 427 |
Yes
|
67%
|
No
|
28%
|
DK
|
5%
|
Do you support or oppose allowing adults in Florida to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use?
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 423 |
Support
|
44%
|
Oppose
|
53%
|
DK
|
3%
|
Do you approve or disapprove of the way that Rick Scott is handling his job as governor of Florida?
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 418 |
Approve
|
41%
|
Disapprove
|
54%
|
DK/NA
|
4%
|
What do you think is the most important problem facing Florida today?
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 427 |
Economy, Jobs and Unemployment
|
46%
|
Education
|
16%
|
Health Care
|
12%
|
Immigration
|
8%
|
Environment
|
4%
|
Crime
|
5%
|
Terrorism
|
2%
|
Other
|
4%
|
DK
|
3%
|
Demographics
Are you a registered democrat, republican, no party affiliation or something else?
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 415 |
Democrat
|
41%
|
Republican
|
40%
|
No Party Affiliation
|
19%
|
What is your age? Is it:
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 425 |
18 to 24
|
5%
|
25 to 44
|
22%
|
45 to 64
|
43%
|
65 plus
|
30%
|
What is the highest grade in school or year of college you have completed?
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 428 |
Less than High School degree
|
1%
|
High School Graduate
|
18%
|
Some college
|
50%
|
College Graduate
|
20%
|
Post Graduate
|
10%
|
Respondent gender
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 432 |
Male
|
49%
|
Female
|
51%
|
Racial/Ethnic Background
Answer |
Percentage: Likely Voters N= 423 |
Caucasian (non-Hispanic)
|
74%
|
African American
|
11%
|
Hispanic
|
10%
|
Other
|
5%
|
UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.
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