Clinton, Trump: Not All Florida Voters Have Heard of Them

TAMPA BAY, FL — While Suffolk University’s latest poll of likely Florida voters gives Democrat Hillary Clinton a 6-point lead over Republican Donald Trump, neither candidate’s name-brand recognition seems to be universal in the Sunshine State. Several participants in the Boston university’s poll said they’d never heard of either candidate before.

Conducted by phone between Aug. 1-3, Suffolk University’s poll targeted 500 likely Florida voters with plans to cast ballots in the Nov. 8 general election. Released Thursday, the poll looked into all the typical questions related to the presidential race and other high-profile competitions, including U.S. Senate. Questions included such issues as which candidate respondents planned to vote for and favorability ratings for each.

Poll results show that some of America’s best-known politicians are not necessarily household names in Florida. Even some of the Sunshine State’s top politicians failed to earn universal recognition.

When asked about President Barack Obama, one person, a male, responded “never heard of,” according to Suffolk University. Overall, Obama did have 261 Floridians, or 52 percent, say they have a favorable opinion of him. A total of 212 said their opinion was unfavorable of Obama, with 26 saying they were undecided.

Clinton fared a little worse than Obama. Four people said they’d never heard of the former first lady and ex-secretary of state. Three of those people were men and one was a woman, poll documents show. As for favorability, 44 percent viewed her in a positive light with 50 percent saying they had an unfavorable opinion of her.

Trump fared better than Clinton in the recognition department. Only two Florida voters told Suffolk’s pollsters they’d never heard of him. One respondent was a man, the other a woman. Trump’s favorability rating didn’t top Clinton’s. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of him; 54 percent did not.

Politicians on the national level may take some solace in knowing that some Florida politicians actually fared worse in the recognition department. Thirty-three people, 14 men and 19 women, had never heard of Republican Gov. Rick Scott. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, had 81 respondents say they’d never heard of him. Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio seems to be among the best-known politicians in the state. Only nine of the 500 respondents, four men and five women, said they had never heard of their senator and the former candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

As for the general election in November, the 500 respondents leaned toward Clinton as their candidate. A total of 239 said they would vote for Clinton with 208 favoring Trump. A total of 47 respondents were undecided, with six refusing to answer the question.

For more information about the poll, visit Suffolk University online.

Images: Hillary Clinton via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons; Donald Trump via Rick Uldrichs, Patch