January 10, 2012 - Florida Voters Barely Support Vegas-Style Casinos, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Opposition To Medicaid Cut Tops 2-1 Word format By a slim 48 - 43 percent margin, Florida voters support the creation of Las Vegas style gambling casinos, but by a larger 61 - 33 percent margin, they believe casinos would be good for the state's economy, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Florida voters oppose by an overwhelming 67 - 24 percent the idea of cutting Medicaid spending in order to free up state funding for education, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh- pe-ack) University poll finds. Gov. Rick Scott has a negative 38 - 50 percent job approval rating, compared to his previous high score, a negative 37 - 50 percent score last September 11, still one of the lowest job approval ratings of any governor in the seven states in which Quinnipiac University conducts surveys. By 34 - 16 percent, voters say Florida's economy is worse rather than better since Scott took office, with 45 percent saying it is about the same. Those who say it has improved credit Scott 81 - 13 percent rather than President Barack Obama for the improvement. Those who say it has declined, however, blame the governor rather than the president 65 - 19 percent. "Creating Las Vegas style, non-Indian casinos in Florida gets a narrow thumbs up from the voters," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, "but there are interesting partisan, gender and educational and age differences." Republicans split 46 - 48 percent on casinos, while support is 51 - 40 percent among Democrats and 53 - 39 percent among independent voters. Women are divided 44 - 45 percent, while men favor casinos 53 - 40 percent. Among whites, college graduates are divided 47 - 48 percent, while those without degrees support casinos 51 - 39 percent. Attitudes on casinos range from 53 - 38 percent in favor among voters 18 to 49 years old, to slim 48 - 44 percent support among voters 50 to 64 years old to narrow 48 - 43 percent opposition among voters over 65. Casino gambling is not morally wrong, Florida voters say 73 - 22 percent. "Gov. Rick Scott's proposal to reduce Medicaid spending and use part of that money for education gets a big no from the voters. The best he gets is a 59 - 30 percent no from Republicans," said Brown. Opposition is even greater, 77 - 15 percent among Democrats and 67 - 26 percent among independent voters. Women say no 63 - 25 percent and men are opposed 71 - 23 percent. "As Gov. Scott enters his second year in office, he remains in the job approval doghouse. He still has a long way to go to get into the voters' good graces and the high 40s percent range in job approval which is the minimum generally needed for reelection - and less than three years to get there," said Brown. "Compared to last month, at least, he seems headed in the right direction." Republicans approve of Scott 67 - 22 percent but the thumbs down is 75 - 13 percent from Democrats and 54 - 35 percent from independent voters. Men are divided 44 - 45 percent, while women disapprove 54 - 32 percent. "Scott needs to bring home more of his own party members and improve his standing among independents," said Brown. When voters are asked if they like him personally, regardless of his policies, they say yes 39 - 34 percent, compared to 37 - 37 percent in September. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has a 50 - 29 percent job approval, while Sen. Bill Nelson has a 47 - 30 percent job score. The State Legislature has a negative 33 - 49 percent approval rating. From January 4 - 8, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,412 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 14. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling his job as Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 38% 67% 13% 35% 44% 32% 42% 16% 37% Disapprove 50 22 75 54 45 54 46 72 44 DK/NA 13 11 12 11 11 14 12 11 19 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Approve 36% 45% 51% 44% 61% 41% 35% 41% 41% Disapprove 56 41 37 44 29 46 52 50 44 DK/NA 8 14 12 12 10 13 13 10 15 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Approve 34% 40% 34% 39% 39% 46% 44% Disapprove 59 45 53 47 51 46 42 DK/NA 8 15 13 13 10 8 13 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling his job as Governor? APPROVE....... High Low Jan 10 Dec 08 Nov 10 Sep 21 Aug 05 Jan 10 May 25 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2011 Approve 38 33 36 37 35 38 29 Disapprove 50 52 50 50 52 50 57 DK/NA 13 15 14 13 14 13 14 15. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 33% 56% 19% 27% 38% 29% 35% 20% 36% Disapprove 49 26 67 55 49 48 47 62 45 DK/NA 18 19 15 19 13 23 18 18 20 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Approve 30% 37% 42% 36% 47% 36% 32% 37% 32% Disapprove 54 44 41 45 37 47 52 50 44 DK/NA 16 19 18 19 16 17 16 13 24 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Approve 28% 35% 34% 31% 34% 39% 37% Disapprove 55 46 47 52 52 49 47 DK/NA 16 19 19 17 13 12 16 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? APPROVE....... High Low Jan 10 Aug 05 May 25 Apr 06 Aug 19 Sep 23 May 25 2012 2011 2011 2011 2010 2004 2011 Approve 33 32 27 35 30 51 27 Disapprove 49 51 56 47 56 34 56 DK/NA 18 17 17 18 14 15 17 16. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Marco Rubio is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 50% 78% 25% 47% 56% 45% 55% 30% 41% Disapprove 29 8 51 32 28 30 24 46 41 DK/NA 21 14 23 21 16 25 21 23 18 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Approve 51% 57% 63% 67% 70% 61% 49% 50% 53% Disapprove 33 20 18 18 13 22 29 32 27 DK/NA 16 23 19 15 17 18 22 18 20 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Approve 47% 52% 45% 52% 53% 62% 58% Disapprove 36 26 31 27 33 27 22 DK/NA 17 22 23 21 15 11 21 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Marco Rubio is handling his job as United States Senator? DEBT DEAL..... APPROVE....... Post Pre High Low Jan 10 Nov 11 Sep 21 Aug 04 Aug 04 Jan 10 Feb 03 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2011 Approve 50 49 49 49 45 50 42 Disapprove 29 29 31 36 35 29 20 DK/NA 21 22 20 15 20 21 37 17. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Nelson is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 47% 30% 66% 49% 48% 46% 43% 63% 49% Disapprove 30 47 15 27 35 25 32 22 27 DK/NA 23 24 19 24 17 29 25 15 24 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Approve 50% 40% 42% 41% 34% 45% 47% 46% 49% Disapprove 30 33 37 35 45 31 26 33 31 DK/NA 20 27 21 24 21 24 27 21 20 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Approve 51% 45% 52% 43% 46% 51% 43% Disapprove 29 30 25 35 32 30 35 DK/NA 20 25 23 22 21 19 22 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Nelson is handling his job as United States Senator? (*Low also 42% Aug 2004) DEBT DEAL..... APPROVE....... Post Pre High Low Jan 10 Nov 11 Sep 22 Aug 04 Aug 04 Feb 06 Aug 04 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011 2007 2011* Approve 47 47 45 42 45 54 42 Disapprove 30 27 32 35 33 18 35 DK/NA 23 26 23 23 22 28 23 21. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Florida today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Very satisfied 4% 8% 4% 1% 5% 4% 4% 6% 6% Smwht satisfied 38 49 33 33 39 37 39 40 33 Smwht dissatisfied 32 28 34 37 31 33 33 28 38 Very dissatisfied 24 14 28 28 23 24 23 24 23 DK/NA 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 - WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Very satisfied 5% 3% 5% 2% 6% 3% 3% 5% 6% Smwht satisfied 36 40 45 44 46 41 39 35 41 Smwht dissatisfied 35 32 33 28 28 34 33 34 32 Very dissatisfied 24 23 17 26 19 22 25 25 19 DK/NA - 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Very satisfied 5% 4% 3% 5% 5% 5% 8% Smwht satisfied 36 39 37 33 39 46 43 Smwht dissatisfied 35 32 32 32 34 34 29 Very dissatisfied 24 23 26 29 22 15 20 DK/NA - 2 2 1 - - 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Florida today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied? (*combined High also 63% Sep 2004) VERY+SMWHT.... High Low Jan 10 Sep 22 Aug 05 May 25 Apr 06 Feb 24 Sep 22 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011 2005* 2011 Very satisfied 4 4 4 3 3 15 4 Smwht satisfied 38 31 33 36 36 48 31 Smwht dissatisfied 32 29 28 32 34 22 29 Very dissatisfied 24 34 33 29 26 15 34 DK/NA 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 24. Regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott's policies, would you say you like or don't like Rick Scott as a person? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Like 39% 62% 23% 35% 47% 32% 39% 44% 35% Don't Like 34 15 49 40 32 37 35 27 34 DK/NA 27 24 28 25 22 32 25 29 31 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Like 33% 42% 49% 42% 56% 41% 39% 40% 40% Don't Like 44 31 29 29 22 33 36 34 31 DK/NA 23 27 22 29 22 26 25 26 29 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Like 33% 41% 38% 41% 39% 44% 45% Don't Like 42 31 35 33 34 37 31 DK/NA 25 28 28 27 27 19 25 TREND: Regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott's policies, would you say you like or don't like Rick Scott as a person? Jan 10 Sep 21 Aug 05 2012 2011 2011 Like 39 37 34 Don't Like 34 37 45 DK/NA 27 26 21 25. Regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Rick Scott's policies? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Like 37% 69% 13% 30% 44% 30% 40% 18% 37% Don't Like 50 21 75 56 47 53 47 69 45 DK/NA 13 10 12 14 9 17 12 13 18 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Like 35% 43% 49% 43% 60% 40% 32% 41% 40% Don't Like 56 43 39 43 30 47 54 49 44 DK/NA 9 14 12 14 10 13 14 10 16 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Like 32% 39% 33% 39% 38% 46% 43% Don't Like 59 46 53 50 51 45 42 DK/NA 9 15 15 11 11 9 15 TREND: And regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Rick Scott's policies? Jan 10 Sep 21 Aug 05 2012 2011 2011 Like 37 35 34 Don't Like 50 53 54 DK/NA 13 12 12 26. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling the state budget? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 36% 65% 13% 33% 45% 29% 40% 19% 34% Disapprove 51 23 74 56 47 54 47 71 48 DK/NA 13 12 13 11 8 17 12 10 18 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Approve 37% 42% 47% 43% 57% 40% 31% 38% 42% Disapprove 55 44 39 45 32 48 55 54 41 DK/NA 8 14 14 12 11 12 14 8 17 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Approve 34% 37% 30% 36% 40% 46% 44% Disapprove 57 48 55 51 51 46 44 DK/NA 9 15 15 13 9 8 13 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling the state budget? Jan 10 Sep 21 Aug 05 May 25 Apr 06 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011 Approve 36 36 32 30 36 Disapprove 51 53 57 59 55 DK/NA 13 11 11 11 9 27. Do you think the state budget is fair or unfair to people like you? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Fair 39% 65% 18% 35% 45% 33% 43% 20% 33% Unfair 48 23 70 51 44 51 43 68 54 DK/NA 14 12 12 13 11 16 13 12 13 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Fair 45% 42% 50% 47% 50% 48% 33% 43% 43% Unfair 43 43 36 38 37 39 57 46 36 DK/NA 11 15 14 15 13 13 10 11 20 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Fair 43% 37% 29% 40% 45% 53% 47% Unfair 47 48 59 46 43 39 39 DK/NA 10 15 12 14 12 9 13 TREND: Do you think the state budget is fair or unfair to people like you? (* "new state budget") Jan 10 Sep 21 Aug 05 May 25 2012 2011 2011* 2011* Fair 39 41 33 29 Unfair 48 48 51 54 DK/NA 14 11 16 16 28. Do you think that Florida's economy has gotten better, worse or stayed about the same since Rick Scott took office? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Better 16% 32% 6% 12% 21% 12% 18% 6% 17% Worse 34 18 49 39 28 40 31 55 31 The same 45 46 42 45 47 44 47 36 47 DK/NA 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 6 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Better 20% 17% 19% 20% 25% 16% 14% 17% 19% Worse 28 32 23 34 25 30 38 36 27 The same 49 46 55 44 47 50 44 46 48 DK/NA 3 4 3 2 2 3 5 2 6 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Better 19% 15% 10% 19% 21% 20% 21% Worse 31 35 45 34 29 27 31 The same 47 45 41 44 47 49 43 DK/NA 3 5 4 2 3 3 5 29.(If "Better" q28) Do you - credit Barack Obama or Rick Scott more for this change? BETTER Q28........ Tot Men Wom Obama 13% 13% 13% Scott 81 82 80 NEITHER (VOL) 2 2 2 BOTH (VOL) 1 - 1 DK/NA 3 3 4 30. (If "Worse" q28) Do you - blame Barack Obama or Rick Scott more for this change? WORSE Q28........ Tot Men Wom Obama 19% 19% 20% Scott 65 69 63 NEITHER (VOL) 7 6 8 BOTH (VOL) 4 5 4 DK/NA 4 1 6 31. The Florida state budget for next year is expected to have about a two billion dollar deficit. Do you think any plan to balance the state budget should include only spending cuts or should it also include an increase in taxes? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Only cuts 52% 76% 33% 49% 53% 51% 54% 37% 59% Increase taxes 38 19 55 44 40 36 37 53 31 DK/NA 10 6 12 8 7 13 9 11 10 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Only cuts 42% 59% 62% 58% 70% 52% 48% 59% 50% Increase taxes 50 31 29 33 22 38 44 34 37 DK/NA 8 10 9 9 8 10 8 7 12 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Only cuts 46% 55% 50% 55% 51% 52% 55% Increase taxes 47 34 39 37 43 43 36 DK/NA 8 10 11 8 7 5 9 32. As you may know, Medicaid is the government program which pays for health care for low income people. Would you support cutting Medicaid funding in order to increase education funding? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 24% 30% 15% 26% 23% 25% 24% 21% 26% No 67 59 77 67 71 63 66 76 60 DK/NA 10 11 8 8 7 12 10 2 14 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Yes 26% 23% 24% 25% 27% 25% 35% 18% 18% No 65 67 66 66 63 66 57 74 71 DK/NA 9 11 10 10 10 9 9 8 11 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Yes 27% 22% 19% 28% 27% 28% 26% No 64 68 73 63 65 64 67 DK/NA 10 9 8 8 8 8 7 33. Do you support or oppose the creation of non-indian casinos in Florida, similar to those in Atlantic City and Las Vegas? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Support 48% 46% 51% 53% 53% 44% 50% 44% 45% Oppose 43 48 40 39 40 45 42 47 44 DK/NA 9 7 10 7 6 11 8 9 11 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Support 47% 51% 44% 55% 37% 55% 53% 48% 43% Oppose 48 39 48 35 55 37 38 44 48 DK/NA 5 10 8 10 8 9 9 8 10 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Support 45% 50% 46% 50% 51% 52% 50% Oppose 48 40 42 42 45 42 42 DK/NA 7 10 12 9 4 6 9 34. Do you think the creation of these casinos would be good for Florida's economy or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 61% 61% 61% 65% 68% 54% 61% 60% 57% No 33 35 32 30 26 38 32 37 32 DK/NA 7 5 8 5 6 8 7 3 10 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Yes 60% 62% 53% 71% 48% 69% 66% 61% 53% No 35 31 40 24 45 27 27 34 39 DK/NA 6 7 7 5 6 4 7 5 8 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Yes 59% 61% 58% 61% 64% 68% 61% No 35 32 33 35 31 29 33 DK/NA 6 7 9 5 5 4 7 35. Do you believe gambling is morally wrong or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 22% 27% 19% 18% 20% 23% 20% 34% 24% No 73 69 76 78 74 73 76 63 69 DK/NA 5 4 5 5 6 4 4 4 7 WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl AGE IN YRS....... Yes No Prot Cath Yes No 18-49 50-64 65+ Yes 15% 22% 28% 15% 44% 13% 19% 21% 26% No 82 73 66 82 48 83 78 75 68 DK/NA 3 5 6 3 8 3 3 5 6 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds Yes 17% 24% 22% 25% 22% 12% 21% No 79 71 72 69 77 85 73 DK/NA 3 5 6 6 1 4 6 Demographic Summary
