FAU Poll Finds Biden Widening Lead in Florida, Where Trump Has Fallen Behind in Matchups with Democrats

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Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative

Jan 15, 2020, 12:12 ET

BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has widened his lead to 26 points among Florida voters in the race for the Democratic party's nomination for president in 2020, according to a statewide survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).

Among the Democratic candidates, Biden has increased his support to 42 percent, up from 34 percent in BEPI's September 2019 poll. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders jumped into second place at 14 percent, while U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren fell to third at 10 percent, down significantly from 24 percent support in September. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came in fourth at 7 percent, followed by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar at 6 percent, entrepreneur Andrew Yang at 5 percent and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 3 percent.

Sanders fared best among Florida voters in head-to-head matchups against U.S President Donald Trump, with a 53-to-47 percent advantage on the president. Biden and Warren have narrow two-point leads on Trump, 51 to 49 percent, while Buttigieg finished in a 50-50 dead heat with the president. In September, Trump held small leads in each of these head-to-head matchups.

With an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate looming, Florida voters are split on whether Trump should be removed from office, with 49 percent saying he should be removed while 51 percent are against removal.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has just completed his first year in office, is popular among voters with 48 percent approval and 28 percent disapproval, while 25 percent of voters were neutral or had no opinion.

With tensions rising with Iran, 61 percent of voters do not think the U.S. is going to get into a war with Iran, while 39 percent think recent military action will lead to war.

Trump's approval rating is slightly above water among Florida voters, with 45 percent approval and 43 percent disapproval.

The survey was conducted Jan. 9-12 and polled 1,285 Florida registered voters. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. The margin of error for both the Republican primary and the Democratic primary is +/- 4.4 percentage points.

The polling results and full cross-tabulations are available at www.business.fau.edu/bepi.

SOURCE Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative