Poll: Trump trails Biden by 5 points in Florida

President Trump is trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in Florida, according to a new poll of the nation’s largest swing state.

The survey from Monmouth University shows Biden garnering 50 percent support among registered voters in Florida to Trump’s 45 percent, just outside of a 4.7-percentage-point margin of error.

The race in Florida remains tight, though there are signs that Trump is losing support among key voter blocs that could prove crucial to his prospects in the Sunshine State. 

Among voters 65 and older, Trump and Biden are statistically tied, with the president notching 49 percent support to Biden’s 47 percent. Trump carried those voters in Florida in the 2016 presidential race, garnering 57 percent of the senior vote, according to exit polls.

Trump’s lead over Biden among military voters is similarly narrow, at 50 percent to 46 percent, according to the Monmouth survey. A majority — 60 percent — of those voters still believe that Trump respects the military and veterans. But Biden outperforms Trump on that question, with 69 percent of voters in military and veteran households saying that the Democratic nominee respects the military.

Among white voters, a bloc that Trump carried by 32 points in 2016, the president’s lead has narrowed. He garnered 56 percent support with those voters in the Monmouth poll, while Biden notched about 39 percent support, a 17-point spread.

The poll also shows Biden edging out Trump in key parts of the Sunshine State, including in Democratic-leaning South Florida, where he leads 63 percent to 34 percent, and in Central Florida, a region that Trump barely won in 2016 and that Biden now leads at 50 percent to 44 percent.

The race remains fluid and Florida has a history of close — and often surprising — election results. But the poll suggests that Trump’s adopted home state is far from a lock for him as he seeks another term in the White House. 

The state has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, and approval of Trump’s handling of the crisis there is underwater. Forty-four percent of registered voters surveyed in the Monmouth poll said he has done a good job handling the outbreak, while 53 percent said he has performed poorly.

Likewise, Trump’s overall favorable rating in Florida is also underwater, with 41 percent of respondents viewing him favorable to 51 percent who view him unfavorably. Biden’s favorable rating, by contrast, was slightly above water at 47 percent favorable to 44 percent unfavorable, according to the poll. 

Biden holds a large lead over Trump in the state among voters of color, who back the former vice president 70 percent to Trump’s 22 percent. 

With Latino voters, Biden garnered 58 percent support to Trump’s 32 percent, a margin similar to that of 2016, when then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won 62 percent of Latino voters in Florida and Trump carried about 35 percent.

The Monmouth University Poll surveyed 428 registered voters in Florida from Sept. 10-13.