ORLANDO, FL — They love their Republicans at this first-ever CPAC regional event here. But the extreme discontent with Congress evident in national polls has reached its way into even this friendly crowd.
Around 3,000 people attended the event, according to organizers. And around 1,500 of them voted in the CPAC straw poll at the end of the day-long conference. The big news for the local crowd was that former state House GOP leader Adam Hasner won the mock Republican Senate primary.
But buried in the numbers was news that just 19% the voters “strongly approved” of the Republican Congress, with another government shutdown battle raging.
To be sure, the folks here were overwhelmingly supportive of the Republicans in Congress. Seventy-nine percent approved of the job the Congressional GOP is doing, while just 21 percent disapproved.
Florida is home to two of the conservative movement’s brightest congressional stars: Sen. Marco Rubio (R) and Rep. Allen West (R). And yet the best the congressional GOP could muster was a 19% “strongly approve” rating.
During the announcement on the stage, the CPAC official in charge of the poll said the number was a sign that the congressional GOP should pay attention to the needs and desires of the CPAC crowd.
Bonus stat: 1% of voters said they approve of President Obama. Ninety-nine percent disapproved. It was CPAC after all.
