Today, the James Madison Institute unveiled the latest installment of the JMI Poll, a comprehensive survey of 1,200 registered Florida voters.
The issues included taxes, education choice, economic pressures, vaccines, and the 2026 elections.
Cost of Living:
A plurality (41%) said it was their top concern. 66% expressed concern about affording their homes due to rising property taxes and housing costs.
Property Tax Rates:
33% want property taxes eliminated, but 39% say they should be limited but are a valid source for revenue. The poll found voters (45%) would back a candidate who supported total abolishment of property taxes. 18% less likely to back them.
Property Tax on 2026 Ballot:
Sixty-five percent of those polled said they could get behind a constitutional amendment to significantly reduce or eliminate property taxes, 15% opposed.
2026 Governor’s Race:
On those that have already announced on the GOP primary side, Trump endorsed candidate U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds has 29%, former Florida State House Speaker Paul Renner at 9%) and 62% undecided.
However, if you include Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, she leads the Trump-endorsed Donalds, 26-23%. Renner at 7%, Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins at 2%, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson at 2%, and 39% remain undecided.
2026 General Election:
In a hypothetical match-up between Congressman Donalds vs former Florida Congressman and Democrat David Jolly, Donalds leads 36%-32%.
Free Speech:
Following the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 18% of voters cited “Political polarization” as a top concern. 44% believe politicians, media, and social media users share equal responsibility for reducing inflammatory rhetoric, while 25% specifically point to politicians as the primary duty-bearers.
Florida Voters Favor Vaccine Mandates:
Sixty-two percent oppose eliminating a state proposal to scale back on mandatory vaccine requirements — such as for measles, polio, and chickenpox. Only 29% support the change.
School Choice and Deregulation:
Florida voters still love the idea of private options for parents when it comes to children’s education and reduced barriers for alternative modes of education.
If cost were no object, 65% of voters would opt for some form of school choice (41% private schools, 14% homeschooling, and 10% charters).
Tech Policy and AI
As America’s digital economy expands, data centers have emerged as critical infrastructure, powering everything from video streaming and e-commerce to artificial intelligence (AI) applications. With demand for computational capacity surging nationwide, Florida has become an increasingly attractive destination for data center development. The polling suggests that Floridians have a generally positive attitude toward data centers, with 52% supporting new construction for AI/cloud services. The top concerns are higher electricity prices (36%) and infrastructure strain (25%).
AI has the power to transform the American workplace, automating routine tasks and allowing employees to spend more time on strategic, high-value work. The polling reveals a divide among Florida workers: while 40% use AI daily or regularly in their jobs, nearly one-third report never using it at all. Younger people (17%) are more than 3x more likely to use AI daily than those 55+ (5%), north Floridians were more than twice as likely to use AI daily (21%) than the next highest region in Florida (Southwest at 9%), and those with children in the household were significantly more likely (19%) to be daily AI users than those without kids (7%).
