A Quinnipiac University poll released Friday reveals that Gov. Rick Scott’s job approval is on the rebound -- now at 35 percent -- though a majority of Florida voters remains disapproving of his performance.

Back in May, in a poll released by Quinnipiac, Scott registered a 29 percent approval, while 57 percent disapproved of the Republican governor.

He does better in the new poll, with 35 percent approving of his performance while 52 percent disapprove. The governor is hurt by only 34 percent of those surveyed saying they like Scott as a person while 45 percent dislike him.

"Governor Scott still has a long hike to parity in voter approval, but he has begun the trek,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Whether it is the beginning of a serious move or just a blip, time will tell."

Scott is making strides with independents and his Republican base. While the governor garnered 51 percent approval from Republicans in May, that number stands at 61 percent in the new poll. The governor is still upside down among independents, with 33 percent of them approving of him while 50 percent disapprove -- an improvement from the 28 percent approval and 57 percent disapproval he garnered in May.

The poll finds that Scott is doing better with male voters. In May, only 35 percent of male voters approved of his performance, while 53 percent disapproved. The new poll finds 40 percent of men approve of Scott while 46 percent disapprove. Scott still does poorly with female voters, garnering 30 percent approval and 58 percent disapproval.

"The improvement in Scott's numbers comes primarily from those who would be expected to support him, Republicans and men,” said Brown. “But he still has a long way to go to reach the numbers that historically back Republicans.”

Scott gets poor marks from voters on his policies and his handling of the state budget. While 34 percent of those surveyed like his policies, 54 percent say they dislike them. Even more voters -- 57 percent -- disapprove of the governor’s role in the 2011 state budget, while 32 percent approve it.

On the budget, 51 percent think it's unfair to them, while 33 percent think it's fair.  A plurality -- 39 percent -- say the budget will hurt the state’s sluggish economy while 26 percent think it will lead to more growth. Forty-two percent think the 2011 budget made too many cuts, while 25 percent think they were fine and 20 percent think more government needs to be trimmed.

Still, there are signs of hope for Scott. Only 24 percent of those surveyed think the new budget raises taxes, while 19 percent think it does not increase them. A solid majority of those surveyed -- 57 percent -- have no idea one way or the other.

"Given that voters say by 58-to-29 percent that they favor a budget approach that only cuts spending, rather than a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, it would seem that Governor Rick Scott and his aides have failed to get their message out," said Brown. "The governor needs to convince voters that his budget was fair to average folks and make sure they know it didn't raise taxes."

The poll of 1,417 registered voters was taken between July 27-Aug. 2 and had a margin of error of  +/- 2.6 percent.


Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.