Poll shows Donald Trump underwater in home state of Florida

President Donald Trump is polling underwater in his home state — though just barely — according to a new poll.

And the survey shows the Republican Commander in Chief is less popular than GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Emerson College Polling found the Mar-a-Lago Republican with a 46% job approval rating among likely voters in Florida. Meanwhile, 47% of voters in the Sunshine State disapprove of the job he’s doing.

That’s a poor showing in a state he won by more than 13 percentage points in 2024 on his way to becoming the first Florida resident to win the presidency.

“President Trump holds a majority approval among Republicans (82%) and disapproval among Democrats (89%) as expected, but independent voters break against the president, 49% disapprove and 35% approve,” said Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson College Polling.

Almost 53% of voters in the polling sample supported Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election, while less than 41% backed Democrat Kamala Harris. The poll includes responses from 125 likely Florida voters polled from March 29-31. Pollsters report a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.

By contrast, half of Florida voters still approve of DeSantis as Florida’s Governor. His 50% job approval rating significantly exceeded the 40% who disapprove of his job performance. But again, there’s a sharp partisan split with voters.

“Governor DeSantis is just above water with independents; 43% approve, and 40% disapprove,” Kimball said.

DeSantis cannot seek re-election to a third term this year because of term limits.

The polling showed voters largely split about U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who served two terms as Florida’s Governor before his 2018 election to the Senate.

About 40% of likely Florida voters approve of Scott’s job performance, but another 40% disapprove.

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed to her seat last year and must stand for election in November, was clearly less well-known to respondents than other statewide elected officials in the survey. About 36% approve of her job performance and just 26% disapprove. But 36% of voters feel neutral or have never heard of the Senator.