Gov. Rick Scott is gaining ground with Florida voters, according to a poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University.

While Scott is still upside down with voters, the poll shows more than 40 percent approving of his performance in Tallahassee. The poll shows 41 percent of those surveyed approving of Scott while 46 percent disapprove of him. A Quinnipiac poll taken at the end of March found a majority, 52 percent, disapproved of Scott, while only 38 percent approved of his tenure as governor.

"Although Governor Rick Scott's numbers aren't that impressive, they are a step up for him -- the first time he has gotten his approval rating out of the 30s since taking office," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "His best previous score was 50 -- 38 percent disapproval in January."

Despite his close and bitter contest with then-Attorney General Bill McCollum in the primary back in 2010, Scott gets the approval of 66 percent of the Republicans surveyed while 74 percent of Democrats disapprove of him. Among independents, 45 percent say they disapprove of Scott while 40 percent approve of the governor.

The poll shows there is a gender gap with Scott. While 46 percent of the men surveyed approve of Scott, only 36 percent of the women surveyed do. Almost half, 48 percent, of the women surveyed disapprove of Scott as do 44 percent of the men.

Scott garners lower marks with his budget. While 37 percent said they approved of the governor’s management of the state budget, 48 percent said they disapproved of it.

A plurality of those surveyed, 42 percent, believe that the economy in Florida has stayed the same since Scott took office back in January 2011, but 29 percent think it has gotten worse while 24 percent think it has gotten better.

Scott does post better marks than the state Legislature. Only 31 percent of those surveyed approve of the Legislature, while 48 percent disapprove of it. With the GOP holding veto-proof majorities in both chambers, it’s no surprise that 50 percent of Republicans approve of the Legislature, while 31 percent disapprove.

The poll of 1,722 registered Florida voters was taken from May 15-21 and had a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percent.



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