- Gaetz’s disapproval stands at 57 percent
- His state approval rating is worse than Biden’s, even though his district is very conservative
- He faces an ongoing House ethics investigation after DOJ ended its sex trafficking investigation
Rep. Matt Gaetz helped take down a House Speaker but may want to think twice before considering running for statewide office.
Gaetz, the Donald Trump loyalist and one of eight Republicans who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as chairman, has a statewide public approval rating of just 21 percent, with just 9 percent of Florida voters saying they would like him ‘strongly approve’.
His overall disapproval rating is a whopping 57 percent, split between 46 percent who strongly disapprove of him and 11 percent who “somewhat disapprove.”
This will take place in a Mainstreet PolCom Lab at Florida Atlantic University questionnaire where 47 percent of respondents said they voted Republican in the 2022 midterm elections, compared to 41 percent who said they voted Democrat.
Gaetz’s approval rating trails that of President Joe Biden, whose approval stands at 36 percent, although the president’s disapproval rating of 62 percent is higher than Gaetz’s.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is deeply unpopular in his own state, with just 21 percent support in a new poll
Rep. Matt Gaetz is deeply unpopular statewide, according to a new Florida Atlantic poll
The pollsters were in the field during the dramatic attempt by Gaetz and other defectors to deprive McCarthy of the speakership. It followed a chaotic period of Republican Party dysfunction that ended with Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson seizing the gavel as speaker.
News of the poll comes as Johnson made the trek to Mar-a-Lago, in yet another demonstration of Donald Trump’s influence over the House Republican conference. (McCarthy made his own visit shortly after January 6).
The new speaker publicly endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential bid last week when he told CNBC’s Squawk Box program, “I’m all in for President Trump.”
The poll doesn’t necessarily mean Gaetz will have a tough time in his district, anchored in the Florida Panhandle. Last year he won his race with 68 percent of the vote.
Former Chairman Kevin McCarthy was outraged by Gaetz’s role in his own ouster
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson (left) met with former President Donald Trump (right) at Mar-a-Lago during a fundraiser on Monday evening, according to multiple reports
But he still faces a House Ethics Committee investigation after the Justice Department ended its six-year sex trafficking investigation into him. without charging any costs.
His prominence in McCarthy’s removal brought renewed focus to the House internal investigation.
Last week, he filed his own ethics complaint against McCarthy for allegedly assaulting Rep. Tim Burhcett (R-Tenn.), following an elbow incident that McCarthy denied.
When told about Gaetz’s filing, McCarthy responded, “Oh, good.” He added, “I think ethics is a good place for Gaetz.”
His father Don Gaetz is running for a Senate seat in Florida, having previously served as Senate president.
Gaetz has been mentioned as a potential candidate for statewide office, but his father has dismissed any plans for 2026, when Gov. Ron DeSantis will be term-limited.
“Matt is not running for governor. “He is committed to addressing Washington’s budget and spending problems and fighting for term limits,” he said said last month.