Floridians' top concerns are inflation and insurance costs, and they favor Republicans to solve them

Floridians are mostly concerned about property insurance costs and inflation, and think the Republican party is better equipped to deal with those issues, according to a new state poll released on Wednesday.

The survey, by the Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) Center for Political Strategy, showed that 26% of respondents identified the former issue as their top concern, while an additional 21% identified the latter. Unlawful immigration and housing costs followed suit with 13% and 10%, respectively.

"The average Floridian is really feeling the effects of the insurance crisis and higher prices," said Jeremy Sheftel, AIF Vice President of Political Operations. "With hurricane season officially underway, it will be worth monitoring to see how voters will respond as the season progresses."

This year's is set to be among the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons in record. With ocean temperatures rising at unprecedented levels, Accuweather predicts that this hurricane season could be significantly worse than last year's, with 20 to 25 named storms predicted. A typical hurricane season produces 14 named storms, and the record of 30 storms was set just four yeas ago, in 2020.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts there will be 17 to 25 named tropical storms or hurricanes in the region this year before Nov. 30, according to an article by Florida Politics. At least four are expected to strengthen to Category 3, with wind speeds of up to 129 mph, or worse.

However, despite the AIF poll, another survey by AAA Consumer Plus showed that the vast majority of respondents in the Sunshine State (67%) said they feel the same level of concern as last season, and 4% even less than that.

Among other key findings, the survey found that one in four Floridians (27%) say they would ignore evacuation warnings ahead of a major storm, and among those who would evacuate, nearly two-thirds (64%) say they would only do so if the approaching storm was a Category 3 or higher.

When asked why they would not evacuate in the event of a hurricane, 33% said they would want to stay in case there is damage to their home or property that they can fix, 29% think the storm will turn away from their direction, 24% wouldn't know where to go, 23% for financial reasons (such as not being able to afford a hotel), 20% because they can't bring their pets, and 19% for fear of looting after the storm.

Another passage of the AIF survey showed continued preference for Republican politics, with 47% of respondents favoring a generic GOP candidate over a Democratic one (43%). The remaining 10% is still undecided. Republicans also lead Democrats on handling the economy (43% to 23%), crime (46% to 16%) and education (38% to 31%) among others. However, 44%% of all respondents said that no party is effectively addressing property insurance costs.