University Communications

Detailed results available in tabular format compare Saint Leo results over three years
ST. LEO, FL – New nonpartisan survey work by the Saint Leo University Polling Institute (http://polls.saintleo.edu) shows that three-quarters of the adult population nationally consider themselves very or somewhat concerned about global climate change. The first year the survey was conducted, in 2015, the combined concern level was nearly as high, at 73 percent, and then nudged up in 2016 to 75 percent. It persists there this year.

The 2017 results show that when asked, “How concerned are you about global climate change?” 43.5 percent of adults were very concerned and 31.6 somewhat concerned, totaling 75.1 percent. The survey was conducted online among 1,073 respondents nationally between March 3 and March 11, 2017. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points in either direction. This is the same methodology used each year.

Additionally, the polling institute asked the same questions, for the third year, of a separate group of respondents from across Florida. They numbered 507 this year. Florida is the home of the Saint Leo University Polling Institute and often a bellwether of national political attitudes.

Assessing Concern about Global Climate Change

Possible answers
March 2017   U.S.
March 2016 U.S.
March 2015 U.S.

March 2017 FL
March  2016 FL
March 2015 FL

Very concerned
43.5%
37.1%
30%

39.6%
45.9%
28%

Somewhat concerned
31.6%
37.9%
43%

35.9%
35.4%
39%

Combined concern groups
75.1%
75%
73%
 
75.5%
81.3%
67%

Somewhat not concerned
12.2%
11%
15%

10.8%
7.6%
18%

Not at all concerned
 9.9%
9.9%
11%

10.8%
8.3%
14%

Don’t know/not sure
2.8%
4.0%
1%

2.8%
2.8%
1%

In Florida, 75.5 percent of adults said they were very or somewhat concerned about global climate change, down from 81.3 percent last year. With the Florida responses, the smaller sample size leads to a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points in either direction, which makes the year-to-year change statistically modest.

The other options people had for answers to the question of level of concern were: somewhat not concerned (12.2 […]

ST. LEO, FL – A bit more than half of adults in Florida have a favorable opinion of the job performance of Republican Gov. Rick Scott, results from a new Saint Leo University Polling Institute (http://polls.saintleo.edu) survey show.

The responses were gathered online from 507 adults from March 3 to March 11, 2017. The margin of error for responses is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Respondents were asked to indicate whether they view favorably or unfavorably, and at what level of intensity, the work of the governor, who is now in his second four-year term.  It turns out that a combined percentage of 55.8 percent either strongly or somewhat approve of Scott. The combined unfavorable percentage is 39.2. Just under 5 percent were unsure.

Politician
Very favorable
Somewhat favorable
Combined
favorables
Not at all favorable
Somewhat
unfavorable
Combined unfavorables

Rick Scott
21.1%
34.7%
55.8%
21.1%
18.1%
39.2%

Sample of 507 respondents

“With the Florida economy humming along, it is no surprise that Governor Scott is enjoying solid favorability ratings,” said Frank Orlando, political scientist and director of the Saint Leo University Polling Institute. “This gives Scott a solid bargaining position in the current battle with Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran over the future of Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida.” (Corcoran is also a Republican.)

Even though Scott’s time as the state’s CEO is waning, the public’s current opinion of his job performance could still affect his career prospects. Republicans want someone to run against U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat, when his current term expires at the end of 2018. Scott’s second term as governor also expires at the end of 2018, so he could conceivably run for the U.S. Senate.

The poll asked Republican respondents to choose from a list of potential U.S. Senate primary candidates for that race, imagining that the primary was […]

ST. LEO, FL – The United States is a country divided, according to a recent survey by the Saint Leo University Polling Institute (http://polls.saintleo.edu). The nonpartisan poll shows 82.1 percent of respondents agree the nation is more divided than ever before following a contentious presidential election and the installation of a new administration.

The online poll surveyed 1,073 adults in the United States from March 3 through March 11, 2017, and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The survey included a section in which respondents were asked to read a statement and then indicate whether they agree or disagree with it, and to what extent. They were also given an option to say they don’t know or are unsure.

Fifty percent of respondents say they strongly agree and 32.1 percent say they somewhat agree that the United States is divided. Few disagree with that: 8.9 percent say they somewhat disagree, 3.8 say they strongly disagree, and 5.1 percent say they do not know or are unsure.

The sentiment is felt across political leanings. Among respondents who say they are conservative, 83 percent say the country is more divided, while 79.6 percent who identified themselves as moderate, and 89.2 percent who say they are liberal, agree.

Saint Leo’s poll indicates hope for reconciliation. The poll shows that 49.4 percent say that despite a sense of division in their communities, they are optimistic about reducing political discord. Another 37.2 percent say they do not think the divide can be bridged and 13.4 percent say they do not know. (“Don’t know” answers were omitted from the table for space).

Statements
Strongly Agree
Somewhat Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Somewhat Disagree

We are more divided as a nation than ever before
50.0%
32.1%
 3.8%
8.9%

I see democracy slipping away […]

SAINT LEO, FL – Just about half of the respondents in a statewide survey conducted after Thanksgiving by the Saint Leo University Polling Institute (http://polls.saintleo.edu) anticipate their 2016 giving to charitable causes will be level with their 2015 contributions.

Specifically, 47.4 percent of the 501 respondents across the state said their total levels of 2016 giving would be “about the same” as the prior year. Another group, 18.8 percent, said their 2016 charitable giving would increase compared to 2015, while 13.6 said it would decrease.

Of the remaining respondents, 14.6 percent said they have not and will not be giving to charity in 2016, and 5.6 percent were unsure. The results were collected online from November 27 to November 30, 2016, and the margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

The 399 respondents who reported giving to charities were asked how they go about their decision making, and most of them strongly agreed (40.6 percent) or somewhat agreed (39.8 percent) that they research charities before donating. Specifically:

Donors strongly agreed (38.1 percent) or somewhat agreed (34.8 percent) that they check to see what percentages of charities’ budgets for actual programs or services before giving (total agreeing = 72.9 percent).
More than six in 10 had been negatively influenced by bad reviews; 32.8 percent strongly agreed and 33.1 percent somewhat agreed they had stopped giving to one or more charities over time because of poor reviews.
So-called “report cards” on charities were apparently not as broadly influential with donors. While 48.1 percent either strongly or somewhat agreed that they use report cards before donating, 47.4 percent disagreed strongly or disagreed somewhat. In practical terms, that is an even split between “yes” and “no” on report cards […]

Professor offers concrete tips for those who may have been lax with their devices

SAINT LEO, FL – A new national survey from the Saint Leo University Polling Institute (http://polls.saintleo.edu) reveals more than half of Americans think the U.S. government is not doing enough to protect American citizens from cyber hacks specifically by the Russian government. These opinions were gathered shortly before new revelations that the U.S. intelligence community concluded that hacking conducted before the presidential election into Democratic and possibly Republican campaign computer accounts and various other email accounts was done to tilt the election toward Donald J. Trump.

The intelligence agencies had already suspected the Russians of the hacking before now. That was publicly known—the new part is that intelligence officials this month ascribed a motive of election meddling to the government of Vladimir Putin. After accounts were hacked, some previously confidential Democratic-related content was made public by WikiLeaks, the online publisher of secret information.

Since Russia and WikiLeaks emerged in the news about the breaches months ago, the Saint Leo University Polling Institute added pertinent questions on the digital intrigue to the cybersecurity portion of its nonpartisan 2016 survey, conducted online November 27 through November 30. The survey of 1,001 adults mostly focuses on Americans’ own personal computer safety habits—which could be improved.

The Russian government and WikiLeaks were covered in a section in which respondents were asked to read a statement and indicate whether they agreed, disagreed, or were unsure.

The statements and results were as follows:

Statement
Agreed
Disagreed
Unsure

The U.S. government is doing enough to protect U.S. citizens from hacks by groups like WikiLeaks
13.1%
57.7%
29.2%

The U.S. government is doing enough to protect U.S. citizens from hacks by the Russian government
12.9%
52.8%
34.3%

In the same section, respondents were also presented with a […]