Florida voters deeply divided on key issues [View All]

[Herman Munster]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15206141.htm

A full 87 percent of Democrats oppose the war. In contrast, 76 percent of Republicans support the war. The divide over the war, Zogby said, also plays out in how Florida voters feel about Bush. He gets favorable marks from 85 percent of Republicans, while an almost equal percentage of Democrats, 83 percent, rate him unfavorably.

''Bush's numbers are way down in most places and the No. 1 precipitate is the war,'' said Zogby. ``The war is the elephant in the living room.''

But while the president's overall numbers from Republicans remain positive, a region-by-region breakdown shows that South Florida Republicans aren't as upbeat as Republicans from the rest of the state. Republicans from Central Florida and North Florida gave higher marks to Bush and were more optimistic about the future of the country. Fewer than 50 percent of South Florida Republicans said the country was headed in the right direction.