- The Washington Times - Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Florida voters were almost evenly split when voting for a new governor, they’re uniting behind the one they picked, according to a new poll.

Two months into the job, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis enjoys a remarkable 59 percent approval rate among Sunshine State voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

The poll found Mr. DeSantis tied for the highest satisfaction rate a Florida governor has ever seen since Quinnipiac began asking residents that question a decade ago, with 67 percent of them “very satisfied,” or “somewhat satisfied,” with his performance, the poll found.

Even Democrats liked what they saw, approving of Mr. DeSantis by 42-28 percent.

“Ron DeSantis won the governorship by the slimmest of margins, yet in his first two-plus months in office he has gotten off to a strong start,” said Peter A. Brown, the assistant director of Quinnipiac’s polling. “His 59 percent job approval today is better than most of his counterparts around the country.”

The chief reason for Mr. DeSantis’ popularity appears to be the economy, with 71 percent of Florida voters rating it “excellent” or “good,” the highest percentage Quinnipiac has ever found.

Mr. DeSantis also scored well on the environment.

In his first weeks, Mr. DeSantis moved aggressively to bolster Everglades restoration projects, and his administration has sued to block a new exploratory well in the famous swampland.

• James Varney can be reached at jvarney@washingtontimes.com.

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