FAU Poll Finds Trump and Biden with Commanding Leads in Florida and in a Dead Heat in a Head-to-Head Matchup

BOCA RATON, Fla., May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. President Donald Trump and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden hold commanding leads in the race for their parties' nominations for president in 2020, and are in a dead heat in a possible head-to-head matchup, according to a statewide survey of Florida voters by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).  

In a crowded field of Democratic candidates, Biden polled at 39 percent, followed by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who are tied at 12 percent, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 9 percent, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris at 7 percent and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke at 5 percent.

The survey polled how each of the top five Democratic candidates would do in a matchup with Trump. Biden fared the best in a 50-50 tie with Trump. Sanders polled at 49 percent to Trump's 51 percent. Trump won matchups with Warren and Buttigieg, both 52-48 percent, while Harris polled six points behind the president, 53-47 percent.  

Trump's approval rating among Florida voters rose to 47 percent (up from 44 percent in the FAU BEPI's March poll), with 44 percent disapproval. With former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld the only announced GOP opponent to Trump, the survey also included three hypothetical Republican challengers: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and current Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. Trump won 85 percent support in the poll, with Rubio polling at 5 percent, Kasich at 2 percent and Weld at 1 percent.

A plurality of voters, 48 percent, supports legislation recently approved by the Florida legislature requiring repayment of financial obligations before a felon's voting rights are restored, while 34 percent oppose and 19 percent are undecided. In 2018, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment automatically restoring the right to vote to nearly 1.5 million people who had committed a felony in the past.

The survey was conducted May 16-19 and polled 1,007 Florida registered voters. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percentage points. Data was collected using both an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system of landlines and an online panel provided by Dynata. The polling results and full cross-tabulations are available at www.business.fau.edu/bepi.

SOURCE FAU Business and Economics Polling Initiative

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