A poll report says Florida Republicans are more enthusiastic about the governor challenging Sen. Bill Nelson in 2006.
By Associated Press
Published December 8, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush gets a solid favorable rating from Florida voters for the way he handles his job, but not that many say he would be their first choice if he ran for president four years from now, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was the favorite among Republicans questioned about the 2008 presidential race, while U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York ran well ahead of other Democratic possibilities in a random telephone survey conducted between Nov. 30 and Dec. 5.
"We basically just tested the names of people who already have some name recognition," said Quinnipiac Polling Institute assistant director Clay Richards.
Giuliani was favored by 48 percent of all voters and 68 percent of Republicans in the survey of 1,197 Florida residents, including 1,039 registered voters. The poll claims a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
While 55 percent of voters rated Gov. Bush favorably, just 31 percent said they'd like to see him run for president in 2008, including 53 percent of the Republicans quizzed.
Forty-four percent of Republicans would like to see U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona run for president. But McCain fared better than Bush among all voters.
Clinton, the former first lady, was backed by 45 percent of voters overall and 67 percent of Democrats. As for November's losing ticket of Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards, each was supported by about a third of voters overall and by about 60 percent of Democrats.
"Gov. Bush has made it clear that he's not going to run, which probably has dampened enthusiasm for the favorite son," Richards said. "Jeb has said no so many times that they believe him."
Bush refused to comment when asked about the poll.
Those polled showed more interest in the governor's making a race for U.S. Senate.
The survey indicated that Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who comes up for re-election in 2006, may be vulnerable. His approval rating stood at 46 percent. While he was viewed unfavorably by just 17 percent of respondents, nearly two-fifths had no opinion of him after four years in the nation's capital, and only slightly more than a third said they would like to see him re-elected. Even Democrats were split on whether Nelson, the only Democrat now holding statewide elected public office, should seek re-election.
Republicans favored Gov. Bush by a wide margin over U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Sarasota, as their choice to challenge Nelson. Seven of 10 Republicans liked the idea of Bush seeking the Senate seat, while 45 percent said they would back a Harris run.
Nearly one of five respondents rated education as the most important issue faced by the state, compared with 11 percent worried mostly about the economy, 8 percent about health care and 2 percent about terrorism.
