President Joe Biden is making a stop in Fort Lauderdale Nov. 1 to campaign for Charlie Crist as he heads to the November General Election against incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis.
This will be Biden’s first political event in Florida since taking office. The President will be participating in a fundraising reception for Crist, according to a news release from the White House.
The news of Biden’s visit comes as the majority of Florida voters disapprove of the job he’s doing, which could negatively impact Democratic candidates throughout the state, according to a recent Mason-Dixon poll.
That poll found 54% of Floridians are unhappy with Biden’s performance, while 42% said the President is doing a good job. Another 4% said they aren’t sure either way. While not an enviable rating, Biden’s current rating is higher than Donald Trump’s at the midway point of his first and only term and equal to that of Ronald Reagan in September 1982.
It’s also 2 percentage points higher than where Biden rated in February, when Mason-Dixon conducted a similar poll.
Recent polling also shows favorable ratings of Gov. DeSantis are on the rise, notably after Hurricane Ian made landfall. DeSantis’ hurricane response shows a majority favorability, even with Democrats.
A full 55% of all respondents and 61% of likely voters approved of DeSantis’ storm response, against 19% and 21% disapproval, respectively.
Crist and DeSantis are set to square off on Oct. 24 in Florida’s one gubernatorial debate. WPEC CBS 12 will host the debate in Fort Pierce at 7 p.m. that day, two weeks before Election Day. Local news networks will broadcast the debate across the state.
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Florida Politics reporter Kelly Hayes authored this report.
