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FAU Poll: Gov. DeSantis Off To Good Start With Floridians

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BOCA RATON (CBSMiami/AP) - Newly elected Governor Ron DeSantis promised he would hit the ground running and his proposals, so far, have received approval by a majority of voters.

DeSantis approval rating stands at 48 percent, while his disapproval is only at 18 percent, with 34 percent unsure, according to a statewide survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative ( FAU BEPI ).

His plan to establish a task force to reduce the impacts of harmful algae blooms won support from 59 percent of respondents, while 10 percent oppose, and 31 percent are undecided. A majority of voters (52 percent) support eliminating the Common Core standards from exams in Florida, while 21 percent oppose their elimination and 27 percent are undecided.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi have something in common in Florida – their approval ratings are underwater.

While 41 percent of voters approve of the job Trump is doing as president, 46 percent disapprove, and 13 percent are unsure. Pelosi scored 40 percent approval and 44 percent disapproval, with 16 percent unsure of the job she is doing as speaker.

A majority (55 percent) support the construction of an additional border wall along the border between the United States and Mexico, while 37 percent oppose, and 9 percent are undecided. With the debate over this issue raging in Washington, D.C., 51 percent of Florida voters said they support Congressional funding for a border wall in exchange for avoiding another partial government shutdown, while 36 percent oppose and 13 percent are undecided.

Nearly one year after a mass shooting took the lives of 17 students and teachers at a South Florida high school, 45 percent of Floridians said they are extremely concerned about the physical safety of students at schools, while 41 percent said they are somewhat concerned, and 14 percent said they are not at all concerned.

Nearly two-thirds of Floridians (65 percent) said they think gun control laws should be made stricter, while a majority (51 percent) oppose giving teachers authority to carry firearms on school property.

The survey, conducted February 7th-9th, polled 500 Florida registered voters and has a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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