Florida voters send mixed message in poll

Most Florida voters want Gov. Charlie Crist to veto an abortion bill that he, too, appears to oppose. They're cool to oil drilling, just like the governor. And they support his decision to veto a controversial ``teacher-tenure'' bill that the Republican-controlled Legislature wanted signed into law to help reform education.

Whether he's a political weathervane or just a man of the people, Crist's positions are more in line with the majority of Florida voters than with his former Republican colleagues in the state Legislature, according to a new poll of top issues debated in Tallahassee. Ipsos Public Affairs conducted it for The Miami Herald, St. Petersburg Times, Bay News 9 and Central Florida News 13.

The one issue Crist seems out of step with the electorate: an Arizona-style law that would give state and local police more power to enforce immigration laws.

Buoyed by strong support from Republicans and independents, the poll found 58 percent of registered Florida voters would favor such a law, which wasn't debated in Florida's Legislature this spring. Only 36 percent oppose it, including Crist.

Crist left the Republican primary for U.S. Senate just before the April 30 end of the legislative session. A plurality of Florida voters say it was more of an act of political opportunism than conscience, but they still appear to hold the governor in high regard.

``Charlie Crist seems to be more of a people person,'' said Ronnie McGee, a 42-year-old independent voter from Tampa. ``He seems to understand working people. He seems to. What's hard about talking about politicians is that it's like talking about lawyers. You never really know.''

That's especially true when it comes to Crist, his former Republican colleagues say.

Crist favored oil drilling before he opposed it following the Deepwater Horizon accident last month. He led reporters and lawmakers to believe he would support the teacher-tenure bill before he vetoed it. And he repeatedly said he was ``pro-life'' while he was a Republican, but he now looks ready to veto what he says is a ``mean-spirited'' bill that requires women to have, personally pay for and potentially view an ultrasound image prior to getting an abortion.

About 55 percent of voters say Crist should veto the abortion bill, while 31 percent say the law should pass.

``On all those issues, he's been on both sides,'' said Sen. Mike Haridopolos, an Indialantic Republican who's slated to lead the Senate next year. ``So if you're with him today, you don't know if he'll be with you tomorrow.''

Crist was sure to lose the Republican primary race against former House Speaker Marco Rubio, who had staked out positions well to the right of Crist for years. Rubio and Crist differ over the major issues in the poll, which shows Rubio enjoys his strongest backing among Republicans and Hispanics, the fastest-growing segment of the Florida electorate.

TROUBLED

But Hispanics are the only group in which a majority -- 52 percent -- said they were ``strongly opposed'' to the Arizona-style immigration law. And Hispanic voters like Narcisa Suarez say they're deeply troubled with Rubio for supporting the proposal.

``I'm definitely not going to vote for him now that he says he agrees with the law. Even though he's Hispanic, I'm sorry,'' said Suarez, an 81-year-old Spanish-speaking Republican from Pembroke Pines. ``Otherwise, I would support him. Hispanics support each other.''

Poll: Charlie Crist holds lead in U.S. Senate race — for now