The latest public opinion poll by researchers at the University of North Florida finds Democratic and Republican voters pretty evenly split on the issue of impeaching President Donald Trump.
More than 600 registered Florida voters were asked their thoughts on the impeachment inquiry and if impeachment should lead to Trump’s removal from office.
Related: Complete Results Of The UNF Poll
Mike Binder, Faculty Director of UNF’s Public Opinion Research Lab, said the results were very close.
“So it was almost a 50-50 split for both of those. There was a hint more support for the inquiry but it was underwater. There were more people opposing removal at this point than not. And I think that kind of shows where the country is, how divided we are on this issue.”
Binder said the UNF poll won’t convince Republican senators who are opposed to impeachment to change their minds. But the results could help shore up support if sentiment were to shift in the other direction.
“How the public feels about this issue is absolutely going to determine it. And if Republicans start to go and all the Democrats and all the Independents are opposed and want Trump removed, this is something that could definitely matter.”
The poll also found that 53% of those surveyed disapprove of the job Trump is doing, while 45% approve.
But Binder said the poll’s biggest surprise was probably the 6% of respondents who said the most important problem facing the country today is the president himself.
“More important than the economy, more important than immigration, more important than healthcare. They think the president is the biggest threat to this country. That’s striking to me.”
The poll also asked respondents who they would vote for if the general election was held today between Trump and some of the leading Democratic candidates.
When Donald Trump is paired against Joe Biden, 43% of respondents indicated they would vote for Trump and 48% indicated a vote for Biden. When paired against Elizabeth Warren, Trump had 43% while Warren had 46%. Against Kamala Harris, 44% indicated a vote for Trump and 41% a vote for Harris. Lastly, Trump had 43% of the vote when paired against Pete Buttigieg, who had 42%.
“The head to head horserace questions for the 2020 election appear to reinforce two popular narratives,” Binder said. “First, this is going to be an extremely close race, as each potential matchup is within the margin of error. Second, Biden appears to have the best chance of beating Trump in Florida with a five-point lead.
UNF said the poll’s margin of sampling error is +/- 3.8 percentage points.
Binder said the results of a Florida-focused poll will be released Thursday.
- WJCT’s Bill Bortzfield contributed to this report.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.
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