Florida Voters “Swing” On Pot, Guns & Meds According to Resonate Survey

With swing states, indies, persuadables and undecideds all at the epicenter of the Trump and Clinton presidential campaign strategies, Resonate, today unveiled five exclusive insights from its proprietary research that shed important light on how campaigns can persuade Florida’s voters, down to the congressional district level.

Resonate is a leading provider of intelligence-to-activation technology that helps political campaigns and advocacy organizations identify and target audiences based on the issues that matter to them the most.

The five “Florida Swing Factors” from Resonate’s research are:

Florida Swing Factor #1: Voters worry about access to prescriptions and guns. Florida voters are 7% more likely than the average U.S. voter to be concerned with pharmaceutical safety, gun control and traditional energy.

Florida Swing Factor #2: Most are supportive of decriminalizing recreational use. 43% of Florida voters support the legalization of marijuana for general recreational use, while just 30% oppose it. The remaining 27% consider themselves persuadable.

Florida Swing Factor #3: Voters are most concerned about foreign and environmental threats to the U.S.  Florida voters consider rogue nuclear states, environmental issues and terrorists groups to be the biggest threats to the United States. They are less likely to be fearful of domestic threats, such as crime and the economy.

Florida Swing Factor #4: Voters are persuadable on 2nd Amendment rights.  While Florida voters are 10% less likely than the average U.S. voter to support the positions of the NRA, a large percentage of Sunshine Staters consider themselves persuadable on the topic of 2nd Amendment rights.

Florida Swing Factor #5: Voters are influenced by cable news and political events. Compared to the average American voter, Floridians are 16% more likely to cite cable news/programming as their top source of information that influences candidate choice—and 14% more likely to be influenced by attending rallies and hearing speeches.

Campaigns Can Take Advantage of Significant Variances by Congressional District

According to Resonate’s Vice President of Client Solutions, Gary Sherwood, when developing state-level message and targeting strategies, campaigns should be mindful of geographic differences, down to the congressional level. “Here’s a great example of variances by district,” said Sherwood. “While the statewide population of Florida under-indexes for support of the National Rifle Association and protection of 2nd Amendment rights, there are significant differences between congressional districts (see map). In fact, district FL-11 shows strong support for the NRA platform.”

Resonate data such as the examples above can be quickly activated for digital media targeting and informing both online and offline creative strategy. Targeting voters based on values and the issues they care most passionately drive the most efficient and impactful mobilization.

Source: All data is based on Resonate’s survey of 11,388 Florida Voters, April 2016

About Resonate

Resonate offers a powerful consumer intelligence-to-activation technology that has helped hundreds of organizations more fully understand and connect with their audiences based on the underlying motivations and values that drive their decisions to buy or support certain candidates, causes and brands.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Resonate is privately held and backed by Revolution Growth, Greycroft Partners, and iNovia Capital.