The majority of voters in Jacksonville, Florida, said in a new poll they don't want the upcoming Republican National Convention in their city.
Key results in the University of North Florida survey, as reported by Politico:
- 58% said they strongly or somewhat oppose the RNC taking place in Jacksonville. The convention will be split between that city and Charlotte, North Carolina, with President Donald Trump delivering his acceptance speech in Jacksonville.
- 42% said they support the convention coming to Jacksonville.
- 81% of Republicans said they somewhat or strongly support the convention being held in Jacksonville, while just 10% of Democrats said the same.
- 71% said they are somewhat or very concerned about the spread of COVID-19 during the convention.
- 61% said they are somewhat or very concerned about protests and social unrest in Jacksonville around the event.
"National nominating conventions are polarizing events, and unsurprisingly the levels of support for Jacksonville hosting the RNC varies dramatically by partisanship," said Dr. Michael Binder, the director of the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida. "Under the backdrop of a global pandemic that appears to have come more fervently to Florida, the opposition to this event being hosted locally seems much more concerning."
The GOP convention is slated for Aug. 24-27.
The poll was conducted from June 17-20 among 2,524 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 1.95 percentage points.