Latest / Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott / Florida Primary Thinking Revealed in JMI Polling

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Florida Primary Thinking Revealed in JMI Polling · Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Here.
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  Speaker 2: It is third hour of the radio program Good Morning Friends.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: I'm Preston. Jared is in for Jose and it's the
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  Speaker 2: third hour of the Morning Show with Preston Scott for Wednesday,
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  Speaker 2: August the twelfth, show fifty six fifty five. And I
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  Speaker 2: am joined monthly by the president of the James Madison Institute.
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  Speaker 2: He is doctor Bob McClure, Doctor McClure. How are you, sir?
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  Speaker 1: I'm doing great, my friend, how are you doing?
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  Speaker 2: I stand shocked at the polling. We're about this to
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  Speaker 2: discuss that JMI has done. Before we talk specifics, I'll
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  Speaker 2: let you kind of lead off by answering this question,
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  Speaker 2: is there anything in the results of this polling that
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  Speaker 2: really caused you to drop your jaw? Because something caused
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  Speaker 2: me to drop mine.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Preston, we study and work on this so much.
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  Speaker 1: There were a number of things that were confirmed in
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  Speaker 1: terms of what I thought issues related to affordability, which
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  Speaker 1: I know we'll get into in the election. There was
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  Speaker 1: nothing that really surprised me, but it's probably because I'm
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  Speaker 1: in the process. So tell me what surprised you.
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  Speaker 2: It's the lead on the poll that seventy four percent
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  Speaker 2: of responding support the proposal to reduce or eliminate property
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  Speaker 2: tax I'm shocked, I am. I am shocked because there
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  Speaker 2: is no campaign in support of it, and the negative,
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  Speaker 2: the attacks, the scare tactics are everywhere.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, no's that's a good point. You know, anecdotally,
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  Speaker 1: we had been hearing this around the state. So we
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  Speaker 1: hear people tell us all the time, Hey, the governor's
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  Speaker 1: eliminating our property taxes. I'm all for it. And that's
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  Speaker 1: what the governor's message will for so long, and I
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  Speaker 1: don't think it's translated into what actually this amendment is. Now.
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  Speaker 1: I'm a big believer in any opportunity to reduce the
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  Speaker 1: size of government in terms of lowering taxes and reducing
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  Speaker 1: spending is an opportunity to be successful. We have some
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  Speaker 1: good friends that don't share this position. But I think,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I didn't think this amendment had much of
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  Speaker 1: a chance to pass, But after that polling, I think
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  Speaker 1: it's got a change. I think it's got a decent chance.
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  Speaker 1: You know, obviously we have to get sixty percent here
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  Speaker 1: in Florida. It's not fifty percent plus one. And I
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  Speaker 1: think the narrative is still out there that the governor
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  Speaker 1: wants to eliminate our property taxes wrongly, but this is
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  Speaker 1: the amendment that's going to do that.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and by wrongly you mean not so much the
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  Speaker 2: governors because this this amendment does not mirror what the
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  Speaker 2: governor requested and advocated for. But he's saying, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I'm going to vote for it because it's better than
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  Speaker 2: nothing we can. We're going to have time to pick
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  Speaker 2: this apart a little bit further, because I think there's
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  Speaker 2: a lot to pick apart. But this polling covers so
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  Speaker 2: many interesting areas and one of them you had mentioned
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  Speaker 2: just briefly, and it's the affordability issue.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, we've got we've got a big affordable and look,
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  Speaker 1: Florida's demographics matched the entire country. We have two time zones,
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  Speaker 1: we have about eight hundred people moving here today. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: the the issues that you're going to find in proper
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  Speaker 1: polling in Florida. And let me tell you something, This
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  Speaker 1: is not a push poll. This is a you know,
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  Speaker 1: we lay out all the cross tabs, we lay out
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  Speaker 1: everything we've done, how we got here, and we have
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  Speaker 1: nothing not because you have nothing to gain by hiding anything.
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  Speaker 1: And so affordability matches the concerns across the country. Not
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  Speaker 1: only would you go through a drive through or go
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  Speaker 1: to a grocery store, or fix your car, the things
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  Speaker 1: that you and I and your listeners deal with every
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  Speaker 1: single day, but it's also your home, trying to buy
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  Speaker 1: a home, paying your insurance, you know, all of those
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  Speaker 1: kinds of things. It is a massive issue across the
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  Speaker 1: country and on a national level, the Republicans are going
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  Speaker 1: have not in Congress have done a terrible job. Terrible.
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  Speaker 1: I know it's just shocking to you, Preston, but the
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  Speaker 1: Republicans in Washington have done a terrible job getting anything
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  Speaker 1: done and then messaging it in the proper way. But
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  Speaker 1: I think the Democratic Socialists are going to bail them out.
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  Speaker 1: But that's a different topic, but that is a huge issue.
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  Speaker 1: Both the candidates from both parties in Florida are running
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  Speaker 1: for governor have in their own way tried to address
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  Speaker 1: this issue. But it's going to continue to be a
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  Speaker 1: big issue, I would predict, probably for the rest of
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  Speaker 1: the president's term.
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  Speaker 2: With doctor Bob McClure of the James Madison Institute talking
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  Speaker 2: about some polling that JMI has recently released, and you
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  Speaker 2: touched on it a little bit. The race for governor.
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  Speaker 2: Break down what your polling shows.
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  Speaker 1: You know, it shows that right now, obviously David Jolly
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  Speaker 1: and Byron Donald's are the favorites. You know, Byron has
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  Speaker 1: the President's endorsement, which is really big in Florida and
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  Speaker 1: huge in a Republican primary. And so what we're seeing
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  Speaker 1: is Byron's at forty nine percent. David Jolly's obviously going
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  Speaker 1: to win that primary. But then when you look at
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  Speaker 1: the head to head generally speaking, Byron's up seven points
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  Speaker 1: and so, which is a lot in a Florida race.
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  Speaker 1: So it's going to be very interesting your your listeners
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  Speaker 1: may or may not know that there are more Republicans
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  Speaker 1: statewide registered as Republicans than there are Democrats by almost
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  Speaker 1: about a million and a half registrations, which is huge.
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  Speaker 1: And the polling is reflecting that. What I think is
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  Speaker 1: more interesting is not more interesting, but interesting at least
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  Speaker 1: as interesting is what each candidate is saying how they're
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  Speaker 1: going to address the issues in this polling. And I
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  Speaker 1: think that's really important for voters to understand.
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  Speaker 2: Tell me this and I should know this answer, but
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  Speaker 2: right now is escaping me? Is there a winner take
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  Speaker 2: all in the primaries or do we face a runoff.
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  Speaker 1: If yeah, it'll be winner take all in the governor's race.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, there, yeah, so plurality wins the race, right right,
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  Speaker 2: all right? And go ahead?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, no, no, so And and you know Byron's
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  Speaker 1: got a lot of money. I'm sure that I don't
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  Speaker 1: know what David Jolly has. But I think the Democrats
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  Speaker 1: think that they might be able to sneak in and
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  Speaker 1: steal this governor's race, given the discussions you and I
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  Speaker 1: have just had about affordability and the problems Republicans are
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  Speaker 1: having across the country. I don't I don't think that's
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  Speaker 1: going to be I don't think they have as good
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  Speaker 1: a shot as they think they do. But we're gonna
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  Speaker 1: let it play out and see where we go.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Sadly, I think the and it's a constant theme
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  Speaker 2: that I have been complaining about for a long long time, Bob,
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  Speaker 2: is the messaging inadequacies of the Republican Party in general,
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  Speaker 2: and Conservatives to a certain extent, they just they it
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  Speaker 2: shows up at times like this because there are messaging
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  Speaker 2: opportunities left and right. But how how David Jolly's even
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  Speaker 2: sitting at thirty eight percent astounds me, to be honest with.
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  Speaker 1: You, right, No, I agree, and I think that Republicans
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  Speaker 1: and I'm not saying that this is Byron per Se,
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  Speaker 1: but generally, you know, just calling someone a socialist, just
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  Speaker 1: calling someone a Marxist, as opposed to talking daily, a
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  Speaker 1: minute by minute about the issues that Floridian's voters face
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  Speaker 1: every single day. Forty bucks, when you're getting a burger
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  Speaker 1: at the drive through, getting your car fixed, groceries, the
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  Speaker 1: things that matter, paying your car insurance, your your home insurance,
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  Speaker 1: the things that matter every single day. How are you,
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  Speaker 1: mister politician, going to address these issues that came through
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  Speaker 1: loud and clear on this polling. What what I thought
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  Speaker 1: was interesting is that you had a almost half of
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  Speaker 1: our respondents did not have a college degree. And what
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  Speaker 1: that tells you is that these issues transcend all economic
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  Speaker 1: socioeconomic background. It is hard working, blue collar Floridians and
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  Speaker 1: it is maybe middle class, upper middle class Fluardians. Everybody
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  Speaker 1: is concerned about these issues like affordability and the future
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  Speaker 1: of the country and how they're going to pay for
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  Speaker 1: you know, basic goods and services, and it cut across
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  Speaker 1: all economic line.
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  Speaker 2: Back to the affordable issue of the affordability issue, I
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  Speaker 2: should say, doctor McClure and healthcare price transparency. You decided
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  Speaker 2: to ask some questions related to that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and and no surprise, Floridians want to know what
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  Speaker 1: things cost. And you know, the President has pushed hard
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  Speaker 1: on this. Governor has pushed hard on this, but the
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  Speaker 1: efforts kind of across the board. Again, this is a
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  Speaker 1: great issue for Republicans, but it's very disjointed in how
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  Speaker 1: they strategize on this. But it goes back to the
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  Speaker 1: affordability component pressing in that people are nervous about the
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  Speaker 1: cost of healthcare and there are all kinds of solutions
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  Speaker 1: and we don't message it well at all, and price
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  Speaker 1: transparency is critically important. Hospitals don't want you to know
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  Speaker 1: what they pay for aspirin or procedures doctors buy and
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  Speaker 1: large generally don't want you to know what they pay. Now,
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  Speaker 1: part of it is not their fault. There is this
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  Speaker 1: regulatory just kind of thicket of just driving up the
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  Speaker 1: cost of just surviving as a medical professional. I get
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  Speaker 1: that there's the fear of being sued. I get that,
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  Speaker 1: but price transparency on prescription drugs and services is critically important,
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  Speaker 1: and we that the polling reflected.
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  Speaker 2: That if the polling in and let me put it
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  Speaker 2: this way, the polling shows ninety one percent of Republicans,
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  Speaker 2: eighty eight percent of Democrats, ninety two percent of independence
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  Speaker 2: support transparency in prescription prices, non emergency procedures, and so forth.
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  Speaker 2: Then what's keeping the legislature from doing something about it?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think there is a I mean, if we're
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  Speaker 1: all honest here right, just between you and me.
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  Speaker 2: I'm sure nobody's yeah, no one's listening, just us, right.
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  Speaker 1: Right, I mean, there's a there's a huge medical lobby
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  Speaker 1: component to obscuring the message. Right, people get very wealthy,
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  Speaker 1: not people, but well people, but entities get very wealthy
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  Speaker 1: by obscuring the cost of healthcare. And so there is
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  Speaker 1: a significant component that doesn't want you and me, What
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  Speaker 1: doesn't want us to know what things are going to cost,
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  Speaker 1: not only in the state but across the country. It's
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  Speaker 1: also far more complicated in terms of healthcare. Is a
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  Speaker 1: is a is an issue Unlike let's say property insurance
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  Speaker 1: that is you know focused that that that really is
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  Speaker 1: in the state of Florida, we can really affect a.
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  Speaker 1: Health Care is also an issue that is that crosses
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  Speaker 1: state lines and even into DC as we all know,
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  Speaker 1: and that also is drives drives up the cost, and
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  Speaker 1: so it's a very complicated issue. The other side likes
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  Speaker 1: somebody the waters makes it difficult to get legislation passed.
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  Speaker 2: From the policy perspective of JMI, I want to get
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  Speaker 2: your thoughts on one other part of your polling. Although
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  Speaker 2: there's a lot more that could be discussed, I think
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  Speaker 2: next most important that I want to touch on is
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  Speaker 2: the education side of this polling. What what informs policy
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  Speaker 2: out of this polling? What stands out to you from
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  Speaker 2: your chair as president of James Madison Well, I.
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  Speaker 1: Think what I find interesting is that I believe that
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  Speaker 1: parental choice and opportunity is obviously here to stay and
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  Speaker 1: it's going to continue to grow in the state. For
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  Speaker 1: so long, going back years at Preston, people didn't trust
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  Speaker 1: that they were concerned because they didn't know anything about
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  Speaker 1: it oncation on the education front, and now it has
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  Speaker 1: become the desure opportunity for your children and for your grandchildren.
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  Speaker 1: So right now, over fifty percent of our kate twelve
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  Speaker 1: educated or age children have some form of school choice
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  Speaker 1: that means they might take a class online or they
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  Speaker 1: might you know, take a class at the local junior college.
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  Speaker 1: You're you know, they're in a magnet school or whatever.
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  Speaker 1: That's a stunning statistic. And what we find is that
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  Speaker 1: families and parents want more opportunity and more choice. Interestingly,
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  Speaker 1: David Jolly and Gwyn Graham came out and said if
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  Speaker 1: they're elected, they are going to put an end to that,
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  Speaker 1: and not that they can, but that they continue to
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  Speaker 1: run that old, stale playbook that really caught Andrew Gillum
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  Speaker 1: the election eight years ago. And Byron obviously has said
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  Speaker 1: that they're going to continue to expand it and grow
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  Speaker 1: it in terms of choice and opportunities. The money follows
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  Speaker 1: the child today, each child is different. If you have
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  Speaker 1: more than one child, you know that in your own home,
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  Speaker 1: the money follows the child and parents are getting comfortable
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  Speaker 1: with that. Whereas back in the day, the love for
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  Speaker 1: the old public school, well when I was growing up,
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  Speaker 1: I put that in air quotes. That is dissipating and
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  Speaker 1: it's good to see now public schools are having to
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  Speaker 1: compete for students regardless of what Rocky Hanna says, or
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: a school board that won't close schools regardless of what
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  Speaker 1: they say they're now having to compete for students and
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  Speaker 1: that is a good thing.
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  Speaker 2: Doctor McLure, thanks as always for the time. We'll talk
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: again next month and we'll have some primary results to
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: discuss then as well.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Thank you, thanks for having me