6:39

PM EDT September 27, 2017 Jordan Ferrell

John Morgan found favorable among FL

voters, Scott's ratings increase post Irma
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Healthcare concerns, gubernatorial contention
from John Morgan and statewide approval for Governor Rick Scott’s
handling of Hurricane Irma are a few of the highlights in the most
recent political poll from the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Despite the historical statewide evacuation and widespread destruction

seen in South Florida, 56 percent of likely voters in the Sunshine State
are optimistic and believe the state is headed in the right direction,
according to the Florida business group's recent poll.

“It’s heartwarming when voters believe Florida is headed in the right

direction immediately after a hurricane,” said Marian Johnson, senior
vice president of political operations at the Florida Chamber of
Commerce.

Around 78 percent of Republican voters who were polled believe the

state is headed in the right direction, while just 41 percent of
Democrats and 41 percent of no party a liation (NPA) voters agree
with the notion.

Of the total 615 likely voters in Florida who were polled earlier this
month, 91 percent of them approved of Governor Scott’s preparation
and response in handling Hurricane Irma.

Along party lines, 95 percent of Republicans approved of his

performance, while 89 percent of Democrats found his execution
favorable. In addition, 86 percent of NPA voters approved of his crisis
performance.

“Despite Hurricane Irma’s destruction, Floridians believe securing

Florida’s long-term future is more important than short-term
politics,” Johnson said.
Consequently, Scott’s overall job performance rating has increased to
63 percent approval, an 11-point uptick from the 52 percent approval
rating he received in July.

The governor has also gained a slight advantage over incumbent Bill
Nelson in a head-to-head matchup for the position of U.S. Senator.
Scott is favored by 47 percent of likely voters to Nelson’s 45 percent in
a race that Scott has yet to declare for, according to the poll.

Among the issues that weighed the heaviest on the hearts of those who
were polled, 16 percent of likely voters in Florida agreed that healthcare
was the most important, followed by jobs and economy and then
education.

Immigration and global warming remained somewhat of a concern for

Floridians, while issues involving guns, terrorism and even marijuana
barely registered among voters at this time, according to the poll.

Surprisingly, Orlando attorney John Morgan, whose name has

seemingly become synonymous with medical marijuana, found
considerable favoritism among a list of Democratic gubernatorial
candidates who have already declared for the 2018 election.

The only Democrat who was found more favorable – as well as

unfavorable – and more renown than Morgan was Senator Bill Nelson,
according to the poll. In addition, 23 percent of Democrats said they
would support Morgan over the likes of Gwen Graham and Andrew
Gillum, who have emerged as front-runners for the party since
declaring. Forty-four percent of the Democratic voters who were
polled, however, indicated that they were undecided.
Twenty percent of Florida voters said they found Morgan unfavorable,
compared to the 22 percent of likely voters who found Nelson
unfavorable. Only 35 percent of voters indicated they had never heard
of Morgan, compared to the 58 percent for Graham and 72 percent for
Gillum.

Morgan has previously stated that he has seriously considered running

for governor of Florida and has the nancial means to do so, but
remains undecided on the matter.

"I think it's better for me to just watch and see," Morgan said back in
July. "Maybe the people of Florida will go, 'You know what, we love
what you are saying,' and demand it or they say, 'You know what,
you're really not our cup of tea. You'll get the feel for that. You know
when somebody wants to go out on a date with you and when they
don't."

Morgan said if he does decide to run for governor, he will be the most
"pro-business" candidate on the political playing eld, with a diverse
portfolio of business endeavors and work experience to back up his
claim.

“I think about it all the time and people come up to me all the time and
you know, I know this, I know that there is nobody in Florida that
would ght for the forgotten and the powerless like me,” said Morgan.
READ MORE: John Morgan les suit against State of Florida over
marijuana bill

Among the Republican candidate totem pole for 2018, Scott ranked the
highest in favoritism with 57 percent, followed by U.S. Senator Marco
Rubio at 49 percent and Adam Putnam at 24 percent, according to the
poll. Forty percent of voters, however, found Rubio as an unfavorable
candidate heading into the 2018 elections, slightly higher than the 38
percent who found Scott unfavorable.

Further down the GOP line, U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis was found
favorable among 12 percent of Florida voters, while Florida House
Speaker Richard Corcoran was favored by 14 percent and Florida
Senator Jack Latvala by 8 percent. Among those three, Latvala is the
only candidate who has declared his intentions to run for governor.

Of the Republicans who were polled, 26 percent said Putnam had their
vote in a primary election for governor, while DeSantis ranked a distant
second at 9 percent. Latvala garnered two percent of support from
Republican voters, next to Corcoran’s one percent. Additionally, three
percent of Republican voters would elect someone else and an
overwhelming 59 percent remain undecided on the matter.

In a head-to-head general election matchup for governor, Morgan

would garner 37 percent of the votes to Putnam’s 40 percent if the
election had been held this month, according to the poll. Putnam would
also win out against Graham, according to the poll, if the election were
held this month.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce political poll was conducted by

Cherry Communications between Sept. 17 and Sept. 24 during live
telephone interviews of likely voters. The margin of error for the poll is
four percent and the sample size included 263 Democrat, 256
Republican and 96 NPA likely voters for a total of 615 respondents
statewide.

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