A new poll shows President Barack Obama’s approval rating among Florida voters has fallen to 40-percent. So, will that could reflect poorly on other Democratic races in Florida, including Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist?
University of South Florida Political Scientist Susan MacManus says President Obama’s slip in approval will mean the GOP will seize the opportunity to draw a link between Obama and Charlie Crist, especially since there are several pictures of them together.
“Of course, Republicans are trying to remind him consistently that the President is not so popular right now, and maybe that friendship is not so great for him politically,” said MacManus.
Still, she says it’s a long time until Election Day, so anything can happen.
“For awhile there, it had to be very anti-Republican for shutting down the government and then quickly, it turned to anti-Democrat because of the focus on the Affordable Care Act website that didn’t work. So, we’ve seen how quickly the issue and subjects can change, which makes it very difficult in November 2013 what’s going to happen in November 2014. A year is a lifetime in politics,” she added.
Despite that, MacManus says President Obama’s dip in approval will concern Democratic candidates, particularly in competitive races, because the public will likely judge state races based on what they see in Washington D.C.
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