Florida: A bellwether for the midterm elections

NEWS AND OPINION:

Public opinion is getting very interesting these days down in the Sunshine State.

“Florida voters would choose Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in 2024, if he were the Republican nominee, over President Biden by 52%-44%,” advises a new Suffolk University/USA Today poll of Florida voters who are likely to vote in the midterm elections come November.

But wait, there’s more.

The poll also finds that Florida voters would prefer former President Donald Trump over Mr. Biden — 47% to 44%, respectively. But it’s complicated.

Despite Mr. DeSantis’ more-robust lead over the current president, that advantage does not come into play with Mr. Trump in a hypothetical Republican primary bout. Mr. Trump still leads the Florida governor by seven percentage points (47%-40%).

But wait, there’s still more.

In a hypothetical Democratic primary matchup between former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Mr. Biden, Mrs. Clinton bests the president by 46%-43%. Meanwhile, Both Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Trump would defeat Mrs. Clinton, by 13 and 7 points respectively.

“Ironically, this 2024 Florida case study could be the narrative of the 2022 midterms: party nominees, who are strong within their party but less popular among the general electorate, could win their respective party primaries but falter in the general election,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston.

‘A SOLID D’

A trio of Republican governors are not too keen on the White House performance these days.

“I think this is a failing administration, and I think it’s a real shame,” Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona told Fox News Digital during the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, now underway in the nation’s capital.

Gov. Greg Gianforte of Montana labeled Mr. Biden’s performance as simply an “F.”

“I’m going to give the Biden administration a solid D,” advised Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire.

“And I’m trying to be generous there,” he added.

ABOUT THAT MADDOW MOVIE

Puzzling over MSNBC primetime host Rachel Maddow’s decision to leave the airwaves after her show Thursday, with plans to make a movie? Here they are.

The forthcoming movie will be based on her 2020 book titled “Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House.”

The book examined claims that then-Vice President Spiro Agnew operated a “bribery and extortion ring,” according to Crown, the publisher.

This is a project which has been around for a while. Ben Stiller is set to be the director — a fact brought to light by Variety on Feb. 5, 2021.

Ms. Maddow will make a few cameo appearances while she visits the movie-making realm, however.

“Maddow will continue to appear on MSNBC for special events, like President Joe Biden’s upcoming State of the Union on March 1,” reported Deadline.com.

In addition, Ms. Maddow also revealed she was possibly exposed to COVID during an on-air appearance Monday, adding that she had received a vaccine, a booster and felt “fine.”

FOXIFIED

Once again, Fox News has easily eclipsed MSNBC and CNN in the ratings, drawing an average 2.2 million primetime viewers throughout the month of January, according to Nielsen Media Research. Meanwhile, just 1.1 million per night tuned into MSNBC and 633,000 went with CNN.

In January, Fox News aired 95 of the top 100 cable news telecasts for the month. This marks the 20th consecutive year that Fox News has dominated its cable news rivals in the ratings.

Among the ratings standouts: “The Five” enjoyed an average audience of 3.8 million viewers and “Tucker Carlson Tonight” drew 3.4 million viewers. They were followed by “Jesse Watters Primetime” (3 million), “Hannity” (2.9 million), “Special Report with Bret Baier” (2.6 million) and “The Ingraham Angle” (2.2 million).

MEANWHILE IN OREGON

Let us turn our attention to Alek Skarlatos, a former Oregon National Guardsman and combat veteran who jumped into action in 2015 to stop an Islamist terrorist attack on a train bound for Paris.

Mr. Skarlatos has officially filed the necessary paperwork to run for office in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District — a pivotal race that could determine which party controls Congress.

The new candidate already has raised over $1.1 million for his campaign and has been endorsed by House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Mr. Skarlatos has already defined his mission and his strategy.

“President Biden’s liberal agenda is not working, it’s time for a new generation to lead. The president brought our country down through his self-inflicted crisis on the southern border, record-high inflation, and how he left Americans behind in Afghanistan. It’s time for change, and I look forward to offering fresh ideas to help middle-class families across Oregon,” the candidate declared in a statement shared with “Inside the Beltway.”

POLL DU JOUR

• 26% of U.S. adults say that parents should have the most authority over what K-12 schools teach about U.S. history; 49% of Republicans, 27% of independents and 10% of Democrats agree.

• 18% overall say that teachers should have the most authority; 10% of Republicans, 18% of independents and 26% of Democrats agree.

• 18% say that the state or federal government should have the most authority; 11% of Republicans, 18% of independents and 23% of Democrats agree.

• 17% overall say the local school district should have the most authority; 15% of Republicans, 16% of independents and 21% of Democrats agree.

• 3% said “someone else” should have the most authority; 2% of Republicans, 4% of independents and 3% of Democrats agree.

• 18% overall weren’t sure about the issue; 13% of Republicans, 17% of independents and 17% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: A YouGov Daily Agenda survey of 19,751 U.S. adults conducted online Jan. 28-31.

• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.