Poll shows Biden closing gap with Trump in Florida

Former President Donald Trump continues to hold an advantage among Florida voters, but President Joe Biden is starting to close the gap. According to a new Fox News poll Released Thursday.

The poll, conducted June 1-4 among 1,075 registered Florida voters, shows Trump leading Biden 50% to 46% in the head-to-head matchup in Florida — just outside the survey’s 3 percentage point margin of error. The results suggest a tighter race in Florida than in other recent polls.

Florida’s political tilt to the right has moved in recent years, prompting Democrats nationwide to reassess the time and money they invest in the state, but the poll could help state Democratic leaders make the case that Biden still has a chance to win in Florida in November.

In response to the Fox News poll, the Florida Democratic Party issued a statement insisting that Trump is “in trouble in Florida.”

Trump won the state by just over 100,000 votes in 2016, but his margin of victory increased significantly in 2020, when he won Florida by more than 370,000 votes. Since then, Florida Republicans have led Democrats in voter registration by about 900,000, and most polls this year have shown Trump leading Biden in Florida. Up to 15 percentage points.

Still, the Fox News poll highlights the many challenges Biden faces. While Biden trails Trump by just 4 points in head-to-head matchups, the gap widens to 7 points among a number of candidates, including independents Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

Biden is also losing ground among key constituencies, including Hispanic and black voters. A Fox News survey found Biden ahead by just 2 percentage points among Hispanic voters in Florida, a state he won by 6 points in 2020. According to exit polls.

Among black voters, Biden leads Trump 69% to 29%. Four years ago, he won 89% of black voters in Florida.

Despite Trump being convicted of 34 felonies in New York last week, a majority of Florida voters (64%) said they believed the former president’s guilty verdict would have little or no impact on the election.

However, the poll also brought other good news for Democrats, especially regarding two proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the November ballot.

Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they would vote for a measure that would guarantee abortion rights in Florida until “fetal viability,” generally understood to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy. A six-week abortion ban took effect last month. The amendment would need at least 60 percent of the vote to pass in November.

Two-thirds of Florida voters surveyed said they would support an amendment to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older.

Florida Republican Party Formal opposition to both amendmentsDemocrats hope voter support for the measures will help boost their electoral prospects.