Big Data Poll conducted a mixed-mode survey interviewing 447 registered voters in Florida's First

Congressional District from April 27 to May 2, 2021. The sampling error is ± 4.6% at a 95%
confidence interval. An addendum for additional interviews conducted from May 2 to May 3 will
be included in a follow-up.

Gaetz Approval 2

Awareness of Recent Media Reports 2

Trust in Media 2

Belief in Allegations 2

Key Findings 3
Gaetz Approval

Voters in Florida’s First Congressional District continue to approve of the job Republican
Representative Matt Gaetz is doing in the U.S. Congress by more than a 23-point margin, 48.3% to
24.8%. A significant but unsurprising number are unsure, 26.8%

More voters strongly approve 21.1% than strongly disapprove 17.0%.

Awareness of Recent Media Reports

A majority (58.1%) of voters in the First District now say they are aware of the negative media
reports that first surfaced in late April. That’s far less than the 37.2% who tell us they are aware of
the Project Veritas video implicating CNN and referencing the use of “propaganda” against the
Congressman.

Still, the impact these negative reports have had on his political standing is likely negated in large
part by the deep distrust voters in the district tell us they have regarding the news media. That’s
even more true pertaining to anonymously-sourced reports.

Trust in Media

Only 7% say they have “a great deal” of trust in the media to report the news fairly and accurately,
while another 17.0% only have “a fair amount” of trust. That compares to 31.7% and 41.2% who say
they either have “not very much” or “none at all”. Nearly 3 out of 4 voters in the district distrust
the media. Those numbers get significantly worse when asked specifically about the use of
unnamed or anonymous sources.

Only 3. 7% say they have “a great deal” of trust in anonymously-sourced media reports, while
another 12.6% have only “a fair amount”. More than a third 33.6% say they have “not very much”
trust in them, and 45.6% have “none at all”. More than 3 out of 4 voters in the district distrust
these reports.

Belief in Allegations

Only 20% of voters in the district believe the allegations made in the reports against
Representative Gaetz. Worth noting, that is driven in large part by partisan sentiment. Roughly 4
in 10 Democrats (39.6%) say they believe the allegations in the reports. However, nearly 1 in 5
(19.2%) Democratic voters, do not.

Only 12.5% of Republican voters in the First Congressional District believe the allegations.
Independent/Other voters are far more in line with Republicans than Democrats. Just 15.4%
believe the allegations.

Key Findings

Bottom line, it’s clear voters in Florida’s First Congressional District are sticking with
Representative Matt Gaetz in the wake of negative reports they do not trust from sources they
distrust even more. It’s worth noting that those who are aware of these reports actually give him
higher marks. Of those who say they are aware, his approval rating stands at 58.0%. That
compares to an approval rating of 39.2% among thosewho say they are not aware.

Prepared By:

Rich Baris, Director of Big Data Poll

Email: director@bigdatapoll.com