ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis holds decent leads over each of the Democratic candidates challenging him for governor while enjoying approval from most Florida voters, according to a poll released Tuesday.
The Mason-Dixon poll of 625 registered Florida voters conducted from Feb. 7-10 by telephone found the Republican governor besting U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-St. Petersburg, by a 51-43 percent margin.
The lead is outside the poll's 4 percent margin of error.
DeSantis' lead grows to 53 percent over Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried's 42 percent. The governor would beat State Sen. Annette Taddeo by a 53-37 percent margin.
Mason-Dixon notes that DeSantis' leads over the major Democratic challengers appear related to the governor's name recognition advantage, however, Crist also is widely recognized. Crist previously served as governor as a Republican and now is seeking the old job as a Democrat.
It's also Crist who would beat Fried and Taddeo for the Democratic nomination for governor, the poll found. Of 400 likely Democratic primary voters polled, Crist leads the pack at 44 percent over Fried's 27 percent and Taddeo's 3 percent. Twenty-six percent of voters are undecided.
The margin of error in this sampling is 5 percent.
DeSantis' approval rating held steady at 53 percent compared to when it was polled in February 2021, according to the poll. His disapproval rating ticked 1 percent higher to 43 percent, which is not statistically significant.
About 89 percent of registered Republicans approve of DeSantis' job of governor, while 11 percent of registered Democrats approve. The governor is above water when it comes to independent voters, with 61 percent in approval.
Florida's primary election is scheduled for Aug. 23, followed by the general election on Nov. 8.
