| BY ZAC HOWARD |
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA — Governor Ron DeSantis leads his Democrat challenger Charlie Crist by seven points among Hispanic voters, a new poll indicates. Mason-Dixon’s Telemundo/LX News survey of 625 registered Hispanic voters showed that 51 percent of participants preferred DeSantis, compared to 44 percent for Crist. One percent said they would vote for “one of the other candidates” and four percent said they were still undecided.
The results represent a remarkable shift from the 2018 gubernatorial election, in which DeSantis lost the Hispanic vote to Andrew Gillum by 10 points, according to CNN. It also reveals that the governor’s most conspicuous actions, often met with criticism from legacy media outlets, have helped produce the flipped Hispanic voters over the past four years.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
The governor’s overall performance during his first term garnered an even higher approval rating at 56 percent, compared to 41 percent who disapproved.
COVID RESPONSE
64 percent of respondents approved of DeSantis’ “handling of the COVID pandemic,” while only 34 percent disapproved.
MARTHA’S VINEYARD
When asked about the governor’s decision to “relocate recent migrants” to Martha’s Vineyard, 50 percent said they approved, while 43 percent disapproved.
HURRICANE IAN
A whopping 73 percent of respondents approved of DeSantis’ “handling of the state’s recovery from Hurricane Ian,” while just 17 percent disapproved.
DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS
Notably, 65 percent of the Hispanic voters surveyed were not registered Republicans. In terms of party registration, 38 percent of respondents were Democrats, 35 percent were Republican and 27 percent were independent.
The survey was conducted from October 17 through October 20, 2022.