Poll: Biden holds 6-point lead over Trump in Florida

by J. Edward Moreno - 05/15/20 12:01 PM ET

Former Vice President Joe Biden holds a 6-point lead over President Trump in Florida, according to a Florida Atlantic University poll released Friday.

The poll, which was conducted May 8-12 and reported a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, showed Biden at 53 percent support while Trump got 47 percent.

In a March poll from the same source, Trump was slightly ahead of Biden, 51 percent to 49. In his 2016 election against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump won Florida by just 1.2 percentage points.

However, 53 percent of the 928 voters surveyed said they expect Trump to win the election in November, while 46 percent think Biden will prevail.

Trump also has a more energized base: According to the poll, 78 percent of Trump supporters and 64 percent of Biden supporters report excitement for their candidates.

Regionally, Biden is leading in South Florida, where Trump has shifted his legal residence to from New York, 61 percent to 30 percent, while Trump leads in the rest of the state 48 percent to 42 percent.

Trump has also seen a dip in his approval ratings in Florida, from 46 percent in March to 43 percent in May. When asked about his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, voters were split at 45 percent approval and disapproval.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has yet to choose a running mate, a major factor in the possible outcomes for his campaign. In Florida, 22 percent of voters would like him to choose Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), 16 percent said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and 15 percent back former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.