Florida Split On Removal Of Confederate Monuments

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BOCA RATON (CBSMiami/NSF) - As city and state leaders debate the fate of statues and memorials related to the Confederacy, a new poll shows nearly half of Florida voters believe the statues should remain in public places.

The poll, released Tuesday by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative, showed 49 percent of the voters surveyed said statues "honoring leaders of the Confederacy" should remain in public places. Thirty percent said they should be removed and 21 percent were unsure, the poll showed.

The poll also showed President Donald Trump's job-approval rating at 37 percent, up from 35 percent in an FAU survey in June.

In next year's Republican primary for governor, 53 percent of the GOP voters said they were undecided. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam had support from 27 percent of Republicans, with House Speaker Richard Corcoran at 10 percent, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis at 9 percent and Sen. Jack Latvala at 2 percent, the poll showed.

In the Democratic primary for governor, more than 47 percent of the Democrats were undecided. Orlando attorney John Morgan, who has not announced for the race, led the field with 19 percent, followed by former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham at 14 percent, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum at 9 percent, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, who has not entered the race, at 8 percent and Winter Park businessman Chris King at 4 percent, the poll showed.

In the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, had a 42-40 percent edge over Gov. Rick Scott, a likely Republican candidate, the poll showed.

Pollsters surveyed 800 registered voters from Thursday to Saturday, and the poll had an overall margin of error of 4 percentage points.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.