The path to power for Florida Democrats might run through Gov. Rick Scott’s office, if recent polls accurately reflect opinion.
The “let’s run government like a business” Medicare cheat won Florida’s highest office in the 2010 tea party wave that crested that year and ebbed a bit in 2012, sweeping some of those, like Rep. Allan West, back out as swiftly as they rolled in.
Scott, despite spending $75 million of his own money on his campaign, won by only 1 percent over Democrat Alex Sink. After taking office, his approval ratings plunged lower than anyone thought an elected official could go and not simply announce an early retirement, ala former Sen. Mel Martinez (R). Even the infamous former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (R) didn’t poll this badly.
The new numbers show that not only might Scott lose in 2014, he could take lots of other Republicans down with him.
A stunning 43 percent of Florida voters view Scott unfavorably in new polling and just 31 percent viewed him favorably. Scott is in a rare position political operatives call “upside down” because his unfavorable percentage is much greater than his favorable — an ominous state for any political candidate.
Maybe more damaging for Scott is that a majority of his own party — 53 percent of Republicans — said they want someone else to run in 2014 instead of Scott…
It’s not just that Scott…could help Democrats win the office for the first time since 1994. But there is growing concern of a potential down-ticket effect too, where Republican candidates in tough battles for Congress and the Legislature could be hurt by an unpopular Scott at the top of the ballot, [Republican political consultant David E.] Johnson said.
Scott’s bizarre ideas on how to “reform” public education in Florida are even less popular with residents than he is.
- The Quinnipiac University survey found the largest margin of opposition — 71-7 percent — to the state Board of Education’s new policy of setting different goals for different racial and ethnic groups. The board in October set student achievement standards for reading and math that are based in part on race and ethnicity. Many parent groups and educators decried the approach, which state officials defended as part of an attempt to meet accountability standards set by the [Bush-era] federal No Child Left Behind Law.
- …those polled oppose, 73-16 percent, the idea of designating some public universities as “preeminent” and allowing them to charge higher tuition than other state colleges.
- 66 percent of voters oppose charging lower tuition to college students who major in subjects such as math, science, engineering and computers, and higher tuition for liberal arts majors. Only 26 percent supported charging different tuition in such a way.
If Scott draws a primary challenger, it won’t be former Gov. Charlie Crist. He recently announced switching his voter registration from no party affiliation to Democratic. Crist is, however, widely expected to run for governor in 2014, after leaving the job, and the Republican party, in 2010 to run for the U.S. Senate seat won by Marco Rubio.
