ORLANDO, Fla. — Nearly 24 hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Gov. Charlie Crist squared off in their one and only gubernatorial debate, a new survey of Florida voters provided very encouraging news for Republicans.
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While there’s still two weeks left in the race, a new survey of Florida voters shows, at least when it comes to voting issues, the electorate has narrowed its focus — and it’s not on social issues.
“Voters are telling us that those are less important to them than economic concerns, particularly inflation,” said Dr. Stephen Neely with the University of South Florida.
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On Tuesday, his team released a survey of 600 Floridians that found inflation to be the number one issue, followed by the economy and jobs. Abortion as well as gun violence and crime rounded out the top five.
It’s potentially good news for Republicans, who the survey found led on issues of inflation and the economy.
The survey found DeSantis has higher favorability compared to Crist, leading him by almost 20 points in approval.
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The survey gives a glimpse into what the electorate is thinking but doesn’t necessarily predict turnout, although the data indicates Republicans are more engaged in this home stretch of the election.
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