Poll: Economy colors Florida voters' top concerns

Florida voters want offshore oil drilling, oppose a ``public option'' for health insurance and overwhelmingly support a gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe, according to a new Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 poll.

The common link among the three issues: the economy.

A full 44 percent of Florida voters said their personal financial situation worsened in the past year. Just 7 percent said it improved, and 48 percent said it stayed the same in a state racked by record unemployment, home foreclosures and budget deficits. By double-digit margins, Florida voters also believe the state and nation are on the wrong track.

With numbers like that, oil drilling is no longer a killer in Florida politics. And even the religious right supports a Seminole gaming deal -- favored by 59 percent of voters overall -- to bolster the state budget.

Healthcare ranked as the top concern, with 39 percent of voters saying it was most important to them. The No. 2 issue: unemployment, at 19 percent.

Yet 47 percent of voters said they opposed a health insurance ``public option'' proposed by congressional Democrats, who say it will increase coverage and lower skyrocketing insurance costs. Just 40 percent of Florida voters said they favored a public option.

``Voters are looking at . . . how healthcare reform impacts their personal pocketbooks,'' said pollster Kellyanne Conway. ``It's not just about a tug at the heart strings. It's not about providing insurance for the uninsured or improving the system . . . Most Floridians are looking at healthcare reform through an economic prism.''

Conway points out that voters who could be expected to support the public option -- those whose personal finances have worsened -- are more likely to oppose the government-run plan.

The poll surveyed 600 registered voters by phone Oct. 25-28, for The Miami Herald, St. Petersburg Times and Bay News 9. The poll was done by Schroth, Eldon and Associates, whose clients primarily are Democrats, and the Polling Co., which mainly works with Republicans. The poll's error margin is 4 percentage points.

FOR AND AGAINST

Democratic voters were overwhelmingly in favor of the public option, 62 to 24 percent. But Republicans opposed it by an even bigger spread, 74 to 16 percent.

Independent voters, who ultimately decide elections in Florida, tended to side with Republicans in opposing the public option, 46 to 38 percent.

Rick Nelson, a landscaper with no party affiliation from Deltona, echoed Republicans in saying that he wanted the government to stay out of healthcare as much as possible.

``We've got enough welfare going on in this country,'' Nelson said. ``All this is, is another type of welfare.''

The poll also shows there's a demographic and geographic divide on the issues.

White voters opposed the public option the most. Minority voters -- blacks and Hispanics -- tend to lack insurance more than whites and favored the public option by double-digit margins.

Voters younger than 35 were the only age group to favor the public option, which was also supported more by people who had children in the home.

Democratic-heavy South Florida -- which has a high rate of the uninsured -- was the only region where voters favored a public option, by a 54 to 37 percent margin. Voters from Republican-heavy Southwest Florida opposed the public option by the biggest margin, 30 to 50 percent.