Peter Brown, Assistant Director, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute (203) 535-6203 Rubenstein Associates, Inc.

Public Relations Contact: Pat Smith (212) 843-2012 FOR RELEASE: JANUARY 10,

FLORIDA VOTERS BARELY SUPPORT VEGAS-STYLE CASINOS, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS; OPPOSITION TO MEDICAID CUT TOPS 2-1
By a slim 48 43 percent margin, Florida voters support the creation of Las Vegas style gambling casinos, but by a larger 61 33 percent margin, they believe casinos would be good for the states economy, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Florida voters oppose by an overwhelming 67 24 percent the idea of cutting Medicaid spending in order to free up state funding for education, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uhpe-ack) University poll finds. Gov. Rick Scott has a negative 38 50 percent job approval rating, compared to his previous high score, a negative 37 50 percent score last September 11, still one of the lowest job approval ratings of any governor in the seven states in which Quinnipiac University conducts surveys. By 34 16 percent, voters say Floridas economy is worse rather than better since Scott took office, with 45 percent saying it is about the same. Those who say it has improved credit Scott 81 13 percent rather than President Barack Obama for the improvement. Those who say it has declined, however, blame the governor rather than the president 65 19 percent. Creating Las Vegas style, non-Indian casinos in Florida gets a narrow thumbs up from the voters, said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, but there are interesting partisan, gender and educational and age differences. Republicans split 46 48 percent on casinos, while support is 51 40 percent among Democrats and 53 39 percent among independent voters. Women are divided 44 45 percent, while men favor casinos 53 40 percent. -more-

Quinnipiac University Poll/January 10, 2012 page 2 Among whites, college graduates are divided 47 48 percent, while those without degrees support casinos 51 39 percent. Attitudes on casinos range from 53 38 percent in favor among voters 18 to 49 years old, to slim 48 44 percent support among voters 50 to 64 years old to narrow 48 43 percent opposition among voters over 65. Casino gambling is not morally wrong, Florida voters say 73 22 percent. Gov. Rick Scotts proposal to reduce Medicaid spending and use part of that money for education gets a big no from the voters. The best he gets is a 59 30 percent no from Republicans, said Brown. Opposition is even greater, 77 15 percent among Democrats and 67 26 percent among independent voters. Women say no 63 25 percent and men are opposed 71 23 percent. As Gov. Scott enters his second year in office, he remains in the job approval doghouse. He still has a long way to go to get into the voters good graces and the high 40s percent range in job approval which is the minimum generally needed for reelection and less than three years to get there, said Brown. Compared to last month, at least, he seems headed in the right direction. Republicans approve of Scott 67 22 percent but the thumbs down is 75 13 percent from Democrats and 54 35 percent from independent voters. Men are divided 44 45 percent, while women disapprove 54 32 percent. Scott needs to bring home more of his own party members and improve his standing among independents, said Brown. When voters are asked if they like him personally, regardless of his policies, they say yes 39 34 percent, compared to 37 37 percent in September. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has a 50 29 percent job approval, while Sen. Bill Nelson has a 47 30 percent job score. The State Legislature has a negative 33 49 percent approval rating. From January 4 8, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,412 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.

14. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling his job as Governor? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 38% 50 13 Rep 67% 22 11 Dem 13% 75 12 Ind 35% 54 11 Men 44% 45 11 Wom 32% 54 14 Wht 42% 46 12 Blk 16% 72 11 Hsp 37% 44 19

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 36% 56 8 45% 41 14 51% 37 12 44% 44 12 61% 29 10 41% 46 13

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 35% 52 13 41% 50 10 41% 44 15

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 34% 59 8 40% 45 15

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 34% 53 13 39% 47 13 39% 51 10 46% 46 8

Military HsHlds 44% 42 13

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling his job as Governor? APPROVE....... High Low Jan 10 May 25 2012 2011 38 50 13 29 57 14

Jan 10 2012 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 38 50 13

Dec 08 2011 33 52 15

Nov 10 2011 36 50 14

Sep 21 2011 37 50 13

Aug 05 2011 35 52 14

15. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 33% 49 18 Rep 56% 26 19 Dem 19% 67 15 Ind 27% 55 19 Men 38% 49 13 Wom 29% 48 23 Wht 35% 47 18 Blk 20% 62 18 Hsp 36% 45 20

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 30% 54 16 37% 44 19 42% 41 18 36% 45 19 47% 37 16 36% 47 17

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 32% 52 16 37% 50 13 32% 44 24

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 28% 55 16 35% 46 19

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 34% 47 19 31% 52 17 34% 52 13 39% 49 12

Military HsHlds 37% 47 16

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? APPROVE....... High Low Sep 23 May 25 2004 2011 51 34 15 27 56 17

Jan 10 2012 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 33 49 18

Aug 05 2011 32 51 17

May 25 2011 27 56 17

Apr 06 2011 35 47 18

Aug 19 2010 30 56 14

16. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Marco Rubio is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 50% 29 21 Rep 78% 8 14 Dem 25% 51 23 Ind 47% 32 21 Men 56% 28 16 Wom 45% 30 25 Wht 55% 24 21 Blk 30% 46 23 Hsp 41% 41 18

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 51% 33 16 57% 20 23 63% 18 19 67% 18 15 70% 13 17 61% 22 18

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 49% 29 22 50% 32 18 53% 27 20

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 47% 36 17 52% 26 22

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 45% 31 23 52% 27 21 53% 33 15 62% 27 11

Military HsHlds 58% 22 21

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Marco Rubio is handling his job as United States Senator? DEBT DEAL..... Post Pre Aug 04 Aug 04 2011 2011 49 36 15 45 35 20 APPROVE....... High Low Jan 10 Feb 03 2012 2011 50 29 21 42 20 37

Jan 10 2012 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 50 29 21

Nov 11 2011 49 29 22

Sep 21 2011 49 31 20

17. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Nelson is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 47% 30 23 Rep 30% 47 24 Dem 66% 15 19 Ind 49% 27 24 Men 48% 35 17 Wom 46% 25 29 Wht 43% 32 25 Blk 63% 22 15 Hsp 49% 27 24

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 50% 30 20 40% 33 27 42% 37 21 41% 35 24 34% 45 21 45% 31 24

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 47% 26 27 46% 33 21 49% 31 20

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 51% 29 20 45% 30 25

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 52% 25 23 43% 35 22 46% 32 21 51% 30 19

Military HsHlds 43% 35 22

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Nelson is handling his job as United States Senator? (*Low also 42% Aug 2004) DEBT DEAL..... Post Pre Aug 04 Aug 04 2011 2011 42 35 23 45 33 22 APPROVE....... High Low Feb 06 Aug 04 2007 2011* 54 18 28 42 35 23

Jan 10 2012 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 47 30 23

Nov 11 2011 47 27 26

Sep 22 2011 45 32 23

21. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Florida today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Very satisfied Smwht satisfied Smwht dissatisfied Very dissatisfied DK/NA 4% 38 32 24 2 Rep 8% 49 28 14 1 Dem 4% 33 34 28 1 Ind 1% 33 37 28 1 Men 5% 39 31 23 1 Wom 4% 37 33 24 2 Wht 4% 39 33 23 2 Blk 6% 40 28 24 2 Hsp 6% 33 38 23 -

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Very satisfied Smwht satisfied Smwht dissatisfied Very dissatisfied DK/NA 5% 36 35 24 3% 40 32 23 2 5% 45 33 17 1 2% 44 28 26 1 6% 46 28 19 1 3% 41 34 22 1

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 3% 39 33 25 1 5% 35 34 25 1 6% 41 32 19 2

Contd 21. (contd) In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Florida today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? COLLEGE DEG Yes No Very satisfied Smwht satisfied Smwht dissatisfied Very dissatisfied DK/NA 5% 36 35 24 4% 39 32 23 2 ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 3% 37 32 26 2 5% 33 32 29 1 5% 39 34 22 5% 46 34 15 Military HsHlds 8% 43 29 20 1

TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Florida today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied? (*combined High also 63% Sep 2004) VERY+SMWHT.... High Low Feb 24 Sep 22 2005* 2011 15 48 22 15 1 4 31 29 34 2

Jan 10 2012 Very satisfied Smwht satisfied Smwht dissatisfied Very dissatisfied DK/NA 4 38 32 24 2

Sep 22 2011 4 31 29 34 2

Aug 05 2011 4 33 28 33 1

May 25 2011 3 36 32 29 1

Apr 06 2011 3 36 34 26 1

24. Regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott's policies, would you say you like or don't like Rick Scott as a person? Tot Like Don't Like DK/NA 39% 34 27 Rep 62% 15 24 Dem 23% 49 28 Ind 35% 40 25 Men 47% 32 22 Wom 32% 37 32 Wht 39% 35 25 Blk 44% 27 29 Hsp 35% 34 31

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Like Don't Like DK/NA 33% 44 23 42% 31 27 49% 29 22 42% 29 29 56% 22 22 41% 33 26

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 39% 36 25 40% 34 26 40% 31 29

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Like Don't Like DK/NA 33% 42 25 41% 31 28

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 38% 35 28 41% 33 27 39% 34 27 44% 37 19

Military HsHlds 45% 31 25

TREND: Regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott's policies, would you say you like or don't like Rick Scott as a person? Jan 10 2012 Like Don't Like DK/NA 39 34 27 Sep 21 2011 37 37 26 Aug 05 2011 34 45 21

25. Regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Rick Scott's policies? Tot Like Don't Like DK/NA 37% 50 13 Rep 69% 21 10 Dem 13% 75 12 Ind 30% 56 14 Men 44% 47 9 Wom 30% 53 17 Wht 40% 47 12 Blk 18% 69 13 Hsp 37% 45 18

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Like Don't Like DK/NA 35% 56 9 43% 43 14 49% 39 12 43% 43 14 60% 30 10 40% 47 13

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 32% 54 14 41% 49 10 40% 44 16

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Like Don't Like DK/NA 32% 59 9 39% 46 15

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 33% 53 15 39% 50 11 38% 51 11 46% 45 9

Military HsHlds 43% 42 15

TREND: And regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Rick Scott's policies? Jan 10 2012 Like Don't Like DK/NA 37 50 13 Sep 21 2011 35 53 12 Aug 05 2011 34 54 12

26. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling the state budget? Tot Approve Disapprove DK/NA 36% 51 13 Rep 65% 23 12 Dem 13% 74 13 Ind 33% 56 11 Men 45% 47 8 Wom 29% 54 17 Wht 40% 47 12 Blk 19% 71 10 Hsp 34% 48 18

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 37% 55 8 42% 44 14 47% 39 14 43% 45 12 57% 32 11 40% 48 12

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 31% 55 14 38% 54 8 42% 41 17

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Approve Disapprove DK/NA 34% 57 9 37% 48 15

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 30% 55 15 36% 51 13 40% 51 9 46% 46 8

Military HsHlds 44% 44 13

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling the state budget? Jan 10 2012 Approve Disapprove DK/NA 36 51 13 Sep 21 2011 36 53 11 Aug 05 2011 32 57 11 May 25 2011 30 59 11 Apr 06 2011 36 55 9

27. Do you think the state budget is fair or unfair to people like you? Tot Fair Unfair DK/NA 39% 48 14 Rep 65% 23 12 Dem 18% 70 12 Ind 35% 51 13 Men 45% 44 11 Wom 33% 51 16 Wht 43% 43 13 Blk 20% 68 12 Hsp 33% 54 13

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Fair Unfair DK/NA 45% 43 11 42% 43 15 50% 36 14 47% 38 15 50% 37 13 48% 39 13

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 33% 57 10 43% 46 11 43% 36 20

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Fair Unfair DK/NA 43% 47 10 37% 48 15

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 29% 59 12 40% 46 14 45% 43 12 53% 39 9

Military HsHlds 47% 39 13

TREND: Do you think the state budget is fair or unfair to people like you? (* "new state budget") Jan 10 2012 Fair Unfair DK/NA 39 48 14 Sep 21 2011 41 48 11 Aug 05 2011* 33 51 16 May 25 2011* 29 54 16

28. Do you think that Florida's economy has gotten better, worse or stayed about the same since Rick Scott took office? Tot Better Worse The same DK/NA 16% 34 45 4 Rep 32% 18 46 4 Dem 6% 49 42 3 Ind 12% 39 45 4 Men 21% 28 47 4 Wom 12% 40 44 4 Wht 18% 31 47 4 Blk 6% 55 36 4 Hsp 17% 31 47 6

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Better Worse The same DK/NA 20% 28 49 3 17% 32 46 4 19% 23 55 3 20% 34 44 2 25% 25 47 2 16% 30 50 3

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 14% 38 44 5 17% 36 46 2 19% 27 48 6

Contd 28. (Contd) Do you think that Florida's economy has gotten better, worse or stayed about the same since Rick Scott took office? COLLEGE DEG Yes No Better Worse The same DK/NA 19% 31 47 3 15% 35 45 5 ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 10% 45 41 4 19% 34 44 2 21% 29 47 3 20% 27 49 3 Military HsHlds 21% 31 43 5

29.(If "Better" q28) Do you - credit Barack Obama or Rick Scott more for this change? BETTER Q28........ Tot Men Wom Obama Scott NEITHER (VOL) BOTH (VOL) DK/NA 13% 81 2 1 3 13% 82 2 3 13% 80 2 1 4

30. (If "Worse" q28) Do you - blame Barack Obama or Rick Scott more for this change? WORSE Q28........ Tot Men Wom Obama Scott NEITHER (VOL) BOTH (VOL) DK/NA 19% 65 7 4 4 19% 69 6 5 1 20% 63 8 4 6

31. The Florida state budget for next year is expected to have about a two billion dollar deficit. Do you think any plan to balance the state budget should include only spending cuts or should it also include an increase in taxes? Tot Only cuts Increase taxes DK/NA 52% 38 10 Rep 76% 19 6 Dem 33% 55 12 Ind 49% 44 8 Men 53% 40 7 Wom 51% 36 13 Wht 54% 37 9 Blk 37% 53 11 Hsp 59% 31 10

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Only cuts Increase taxes DK/NA 42% 50 8 59% 31 10 62% 29 9 58% 33 9 70% 22 8 52% 38 10

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 48% 44 8 59% 34 7 50% 37 12

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Only cuts Increase taxes DK/NA 46% 47 8 55% 34 10

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... Military <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K HsHlds 50% 39 11 55% 37 8 51% 43 7 52% 43 5 55% 36 9

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32. As you may know, Medicaid is the government program which pays for health care for low income people. Would you support cutting Medicaid funding in order to increase education funding? Tot Yes No DK/NA 24% 67 10 Rep 30% 59 11 Dem 15% 77 8 Ind 26% 67 8 Men 23% 71 7 Wom 25% 63 12 Wht 24% 66 10 Blk 21% 76 2 Hsp 26% 60 14

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Yes No DK/NA 26% 65 9 23% 67 11 24% 66 10 25% 66 10 27% 63 10 25% 66 9

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 35% 57 9 18% 74 8 18% 71 11

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Yes No DK/NA 27% 64 10 22% 68 9

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 19% 73 8 28% 63 8 27% 65 8 28% 64 8

Military HsHlds 26% 67 7

33. Do you support or oppose the creation of non-indian casinos in Florida, similar to those in Atlantic City and Las Vegas? Tot Support Oppose DK/NA 48% 43 9 Rep 46% 48 7 Dem 51% 40 10 Ind 53% 39 7 Men 53% 40 6 Wom 44% 45 11 Wht 50% 42 8 Blk 44% 47 9 Hsp 45% 44 11

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Support Oppose DK/NA 47% 48 5 51% 39 10 44% 48 8 55% 35 10 37% 55 8 55% 37 9

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 53% 38 9 48% 44 8 43% 48 10

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Support Oppose DK/NA 45% 48 7 50% 40 10

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 46% 42 12 50% 42 9 51% 45 4 52% 42 6

Military HsHlds 50% 42 9

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34. Do you think the creation of these casinos would be good for Florida's economy or not? Tot Yes No DK/NA 61% 33 7 Rep 61% 35 5 Dem 61% 32 8 Ind 65% 30 5 Men 68% 26 6 Wom 54% 38 8 Wht 61% 32 7 Blk 60% 37 3 Hsp 57% 32 10

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Yes No DK/NA 60% 35 6 62% 31 7 53% 40 7 71% 24 5 48% 45 6 69% 27 4

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 66% 27 7 61% 34 5 53% 39 8

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Yes No DK/NA 59% 35 6 61% 32 7

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 58% 33 9 61% 35 5 64% 31 5 68% 29 4

Military HsHlds 61% 33 7

35. Do you believe gambling is morally wrong or not? Tot Yes No DK/NA 22% 73 5 Rep 27% 69 4 Dem 19% 76 5 Ind 18% 78 5 Men 20% 74 6 Wom 23% 73 4 Wht 20% 76 4 Blk 34% 63 4 Hsp 24% 69 7

WHITE................................... COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEvngl Yes No Prot Cath Yes No Yes No DK/NA 15% 82 3 22% 73 5 28% 66 6 15% 82 3 44% 48 8 13% 83 3

AGE IN YRS....... 18-49 50-64 65+ 19% 78 3 21% 75 5 26% 68 6

COLLEGE DEG Yes No Yes No DK/NA 17% 79 3 24% 71 5

ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 22% 72 6 25% 69 6 22% 77 1 12% 85 4

Military HsHlds 21% 73 6

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