Most likely voters in Florida are not too keen on Rep. Matt Gaetz’s performance in Congress, a new survey shows.
The poll, by Mainstreet Research and Florida Atlantic University, found that 46% of Florida voters strongly disapprove of what the Florida Republican has done, with 11% saying they somewhat disapprove.
He grabbed the strong approval of 12% of voters, and 9% say they somewhat approve. About 14% responded by saying they don’t know if they approve or disapprove, and 8% said they neither approve nor disapprove.
Mr. Gaetz has represented Florida’s 1st Congressional District in the state’s western panhandle since 2017 and won reelection last year with 68% of the vote. He’s a big Trump supporter and has been the face of multiple conservative moves, including the ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, from the speakership last month.
The survey found that of the seven regions it defined in the poll, Mr. Gaetz had the highest approval rating in his area, where 16.1% of the voters said they strongly approve of his work. He had the highest disapproval rating in liberal Orlando, with nearly 54% saying they strongly don’t like his performance.
The survey found that more males approve of Mr. Gaetz’s performance, with 16.5% saying they strongly approve and 11.4% somewhat approve. For women, 6.3% say they strongly approve and 6.4% somewhat approve.
More Democrats than Republicans disapprove of Mr. Gaetz’s job in Congress, unsurprisingly. About 76% of Democrats say they strongly disapprove of his job in the House and 6.6.% say they somewhat disapprove. About 20% of Republicans strongly disapprove, and 16.1% say they somewhat disapprove.
Out of the Republican voters in Florida, 19.4% strongly approve of his work and 17% somewhat approve, while only .9% of Democrats say they strongly approve and .3% somewhat approve.
Independent voters were more undecided, with 47.5% saying they strongly disapprove and 6.3% saying they somewhat disapprove.
The older generations were also likelier to disapprove of their lawmaker’s performance. About 57% of those 65 and older strongly disapprove, while 25.5% of those 18 to 24 said the same.
The survey was conducted from Oct. 27 to Nov. 11 with 946 adults in Florida. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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