Poll: Biden leads Trump by 4 points in Florida

Joe Biden is leading President Trump by 4 percentage points in Florida, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday, giving the former vice president a narrow yet not insignificant edge in the nation’s largest swing state. 

The poll shows Biden with 46 percent support in the Sunshine State, while Trump trails at 42 percent.

Among registered voters in Florida, Biden is more popular than not. Forty-three percent said that they have a favorable view of the former vice president, compared to 40 percent who said they see him unfavorably. 

Trump’s favorability, meanwhile, is underwater, with 43 percent of Florida voters reporting a positive opinion of the president and 50 percent viewing him unfavorably. 

With 29 electoral votes up for grabs in November and a notoriously unpredictable political environment, Florida is one of the most sought after prizes on Election Day and one that Trump sees as essential to his reelection. 

Trump won the state narrowly in 2016, and it has become something of a second home for his reelection operation. Both Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale and chief pollster Tony Fabrizio live in South Florida, and the president owns several properties in the state. Last year, Trump himself declared residency in Florida.

Recent polls also show a tight race in the Sunshine State. A survey from St. Pete Polls released last week showed Biden and Trump tied in Florida at 48 percent each. A Univision poll out earlier this month gave Biden a slightly larger 6-point lead over Trump.

The coronavirus pandemic may be weighing on Trump’s political prospects in Florida. A slight majority of registered voters in the state — 51 percent — said they disapprove of the president’s handling of the outbreak. Forty-six percent approve of his efforts. 

At the state level, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) fares better than Trump when it comes to voters’ views on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Fifty percent said they approve of his efforts, while 41 percent disapprove, according to the Quinnipiac poll. 

But 61 percent said that DeSantis could have responded sooner to the outbreak, while about one-third — 34 percent — said he acted quickly enough to the virus.

Democrats have panned DeSantis for his relatively slow response to the pandemic. He resisted issuing a statewide stay-at-home order until April 4, after officials in dozens of other states had already done so. DeSantis has also pushed to swiftly reopen Florida’s economy despite ongoing concerns from public health officials.

The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,385 self-identified registered voters by telephone from April 16 to 20. It has a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.