|
With the ongoing federal shutdown surpassing 30 days and continuing to dominate headlines and political conservations in Washington D.C., Floridians express growing uncertainty about several key aspects of the federal government’s effectiveness while remaining more optimistic about the direction Florida is heading.
The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll, conducted a couple weeks into the current federal shutdown which began on October 1st, finds Floridians worried about the direction of the nation. Just 41% of those polled say America is heading in the right direction, while 54% say the country is off on the wrong track. This number is likely influenced in part by the current news from DC reinforcing voters’ concerns. Floridians are more positive about Florida’s direction by comparison, a plurality of 48% saying Florida is heading in the right direction versus 45% who feel Florida is off on the wrong track.
The Chamber’s poll also finds Floridians divided on which party is to blame for the ongoing federal shutdown. 37% of likely voters polled placed blame for the shutdown primarily on Republicans, while 36% say Democrats are the cause of the shutdown. For just over a quarter of Floridians (26%), the blame for the shutdown is on both main parties equally. Among NPA voters, the blame falls most on both parties: 37% of NPAs say both parties are responsible for the ongoing shutdown.
Short-term pessimism toward the functionality of government also seems to be impacting broader views of government in general. Florida voters were asked if they believe government is too broken to solve the major problems facing our country and a majority of Floridians (54%) indicated they agree with this statement. More than three-fifths of Democrats (63%) and NPA (62%) voters agreed with this view, along with nearly half of all Republicans polled (44%).
“While some voters view aspects of Washington as broken, it is clear Florida continues to be a pacesetter nationally, in no small part due to Florida’s job creators,” said Mark Wilson, President and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. “As we conclude the Florida Chamber’s annual Future of Florida Forum, I am inspired by the number of business leaders and community stakeholders that continue to come together devoting their time, talent and resources to unify around the 2030 Blueprint and the solutions, data and strategy necessary to keep Florida’s nation-leading momentum.”
Trump, DeSantis Job Performances Still Rated Favorably by Majority of Floridians
The Florida Chamber’s poll finds that job approval for both President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis remains strong, however. A 51% majority of Florida voters approve of President Trump’s job performance as President, with a majority all age groups 40 or older voicing approval of the President. Governor DeSantis enjoys similar support from Floridians, as 52% of Florida voters approve of the Governor’s performance as he approaches his final year as Governor of Florida.
Historic Lawsuit Abuse Reform Remains Popular Among Florida Voters, Especially Republicans
In 2023, landmark lawsuit abuse reform was passed to address the frivolous litigation problem in Florida. Two years later, Floridians continue to strongly support the lawsuit abuse reforms passed. Only 12% of voters polled believe lawsuit abuse reform passed in 2023 went too far, while nearly three times as many Floridians expressed support for additional efforts to reign in frivolous litigation in Florida. These numbers were strongest among Republican voters, where more voters expressed support for further reforms than said reforms went too far or were ‘about right’ combined.
Support for Adult Personal Use of Marijuana Continues to Fall Short of 60% Requirement for Passage
The Florida Chamber’s poll also found fewer Florida voters support legalizing recreational marijuana (54%), than a similar recreational marijuana legalization effort achieved at the ballot box in November (56%). This is the eighth consecutive poll from the Florida Chamber indicating this potential amendment remains short of the 60% threshold required for passage. The lack of support from Floridians over the past two years comes despite more than $150 million being spent to try and pass the amendment during the 2024 election, over $145 million of which came from Florida’s largest medicinal marijuana provider. This failure to build momentum for the amendment in polling displays that the more voters learn about legalizing recreational marijuana, the less they like what they learn.
Floridians Divided on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”)
As conversations and debates over the future of various forms of artificial intelligence (AI) continue to shape the future of a myriad of fields, the Florida Chamber’s latest poll finds voters in Florida divided on their perceptions of AI. When asked whether they view Artificial Intelligence as making things better or worse, 37% identified AI as making things better while 38% view AI as making things worse.
The mixed response voters have currently toward AI do not strongly correlate to party affiliation, as responses across all three main party categories were similar, but is dependent in part on gender: A 45-31% plurality of men polled said AI makes things better, while women felt the exact opposite as 45% of women polled felt AI makes things worse compared to just 29% of women who found AI to be making things better.
Generic Ballot in line with 2024 Election as we look ahead to 2026
While the 2026 general election is still more than a year away, the Florida Chamber’s poll shows Republicans continuing to hold a lead amongst Florida voters similar to the landslide victories seen for Republicans in 2022 and 2024. When asked which party voters are likely to support in 2026, 49% of Floridians indicated their vote would be for a Republican candidate compared to 39% who would support a generic Democratic candidate. This mirrors the results seen across Florida in the 2024 general election, when President Trump and Senator Scott both defeated their Democratic opponents by 13 points in Florida.
Republicans Continue to Dominate Voter Registration in Florida with a 1,389,099
Voter Registration Advantage
Republicans continued to expand their registration lead over Democrats since the last publicly released Florida Chamber poll. The most recent voter registration update from the Florida Division of Elections shows Republicans hold a statewide advantage of 1,389,099 active voters over Democrats. As of September 30, 2025, Florida had 5,505,178 registered Republicans compared to 4,116,079 registered Democrats and 3,827,890 registered as NPAs or members of minor parties. This gives Republicans a lead of more than 10% of all registered voters over Democrats in Florida. Since the 2022 general election, Republicans have increased their share of the active electorate in all 67 counties while Democrats have lost registration share in all 67 counties over the same time period.
Florida Chamber Voter Education and Recruiting Initiatives
Looking ahead to the 2026 Election, the Florida Chamber will continue to lead the business community’s efforts to recruit and elect better candidates through the Florida Free Enterprise Fund, Florida Chamber Political Institute and the Florida Institute for Political Leadership. For more information about these initiatives, contact the Florida Chamber’s Executive Vice President of Government & Political Relations Frank Walker at fwalker@flchamber.com.
ABOUT THIS POLL: The Florida Chamber of Commerce political poll was conducted on October 16 – 25, 2025, by Cherry Communications during live telephone interviews of likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The sample size included 209 Democrats, 268 Republicans and 131 others for a total of 608 respondents statewide.
| 
