The GOP has decided to move its headliner events at the Republican National Convention in August to Jacksonville, Florida, but apparently a majority of the city’s voters would rather they didn’t.
On Wednesday morning, the University of North Florida (UNF) released a poll conducted by the university’s Public Opinion Research Lab in which 2,499 registered voters in Duval County were asked if they support or oppose their main city hosting the event.
Nearly 60 percent of voters said they opposed it, with 11 percent saying they were “somewhat” opposed and a full 47 percent stating that they were “strongly” opposed.
On the other side, 42 percent of voters said they approved of having the convention in their state. 14 percent told pollsters they “somewhat support” the move, while 28 percent said they “strongly support” it.
A vast majority of voters said they were concerned about COVID-19 transmission caused by the enormous convention, with 71 percent telling UNF that they were “very” or “somewhat” worried. And a little over 60 percent of voters said they were worried about the protests the RNC may spark.
UNF pollsters held the survey on June 17-22 via email, with an error margin of +/- 1.95 percentage points.
The three-day convention will begin on August 24.
Charlotte, North Carolina was initially slated to host the RNC before President Donald Trump withdrew the event after Gov. Roy Cooper (D) refused to promise that the convention space could be filled at full capacity. Several of the convention’s routine, less high-profile meetings will still be held in Charlotte, but Trump’s prized speech and the other more glitzy events will be hosted in Jacksonville.
