Gov. Ron DeSantis riding ‘wave of popularity’ among Florida voters

Florida voters are high on Gov. Ron DeSantis.

A Florida Atlantic University poll released Thursday found 54 percent of voters approving of his performance with just 19 percent disapproving — a net positive of 35 percentage points.

That’s an improvement from an FAU poll released six weeks ago, when 48 percent of Florida voters approved and 18 percent disapproved of DeSantis’ performance, a net positive of 30 points.

In the March survey from the FAU’s Business and Economics Polling Initiative, Republicans were especially enthusiastic about their party’s governor, with 72 percent approving and 11 percent disapproving, a net plus of 61 points.

Among no party affiliation/independent voters, DeSantis gets 51 percent approval and 12 percent disapproval, a net plus of 39 points.

Even among Democrats, the Republican governor has higher approval than disapproval. The pollsters found 37 percent of Democrats approve of DeSantis’ performance and 31 percent disapprove, a net plus of 6 points.

FAU said the results show DeSantis “continues to ride a wave of popularity among Florida voters.”

Florida issues

Voters expressed varying levels of support for policy issues before the Legislature or the governor:

— Easing the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, with the objective of reducing drug costs for Floridians — 75 support, 12 percent oppose.

— Creation of a task force to reduce the impact of harmful algae blooms — 63 percent support, 16 percent oppose.

— Expanding school voucher programs for middle class families — 52 percent support and 29 percent oppose.

— Banning fracking, an oil and natural gas exploration method also called hydraulic fracturing — 49 percent support, 34 percent oppose.