Florida voters are evenly split over President Donald Trump’s performance.
A Florida Atlantic University poll released Thursday found 44 percent of Florida voters approve of Trump’s performance and 45 percent disapprove. That’s effectively a tie.
The approval-disapproval numbers continue a mild upward trend for the president in Florida.
A February survey from FAU’s Business and Economics Polling Initiative found 41 percent approval and 46 percent disapproval of Trump’s performance, a net negative of 5 percentage points.
In September 2018, the same poll found 39 percent approval and 47 percent disapproval, a net negative of 8 percentage points.
“Opinions of the president are sharply divided,” said Kevin Wagner, an FAU political scientist and research fellow at the polling initiative, in a written analysis of the results.
The divided opinion means continuation of the state’s status as a major battleground in the 2020 election. “Florida looks once again to be a key swing state in the upcoming elections,” Wagner said.
Florida awards 29 electoral votes, more than 10 percent of the total needed to win the presidency.
The survey asked one other Trump-related question, about whether he has some “responsibility for the recent rise in hate crimes.” Voters were divided, with 35 percent saying “very responsible,” 20 percent “somewhat responsible” and 38 percent “not responsible.”
The latest results come from an FAU Business and Economics Polling Initiative survey of 500 Florida registered voters conducted online and through automated calls to people with landline telephones from Friday through Sunday.
It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Breakdowns for smaller groups, such as Democrats, Republicans and independents and men and women, have higher margins of error.
aman@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4550 or Twitter @browardpolitics