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By Maddy Koll and Morgann Rhule | MediaLab@FAU
A new poll conducted for MediaLab indicates that a majority of Floridians are concerned about worsening hurricanes and rising temperatures, and many of the state’s conservative voters are concerned that climate change is making the problem worse.
Asked whether hurricanes have become more destructive due to climate change, 62% answered yes. Nearly 90% of voters for former Vice President Kamala Harris agreed that climate change is impacting the intensity of our storms, while only about 40.6% of Floridians who voted for Donald Trump last November agreed with the same statement, underscoring the partisan divide on climate science. Independents were more divided: 63.6% said they believe climate change is contributing to hurricane severity, 19.1% said no, and 17.3% remained unsure.
The MediaLab poll, conducted in early April 2025 by Mainstreet Research in cooperation with Florida Atlantic’s PolCom Lab, showed that a relatively high percentage of Republicans in Florida are concerned about the impact of climate change on hurricane activity, in comparison to Republicans nationwide. For example, a Pew Research poll published in December found that “Republicans are far less likely to see a human impact: 20% say humans contribute a great deal to climate change.”
Dr. Kevin Wagner, the co-founder of PolCom Lab at Florida Atlantic University and a professor of political science, said that it isn’t surprising to see a partisan divide on this issue, and to see that Republicans in Florida tend to answer the question differently than their counterparts elsewhere. “People’s views are a product of their environment,”
For more than 23 million Floridians, that environment includes rising sea levels, warmer waters and an increase in storm strength and frequency.
“In Florida, where people experience the effects of hurricanes firsthand, voters may be more inclined to come to their own conclusions about storm intensity, regardless of their political affiliation,” said Wagner.
Florida is increasingly turning red as the GOP sweeps up in consecutive elections, and the Republicans now outnumber Democrats by about 1.2 million registered voters. But climate has been one area where Florida Republicans take a different view from their counterparts elsewhere in the country. A March 2025 poll by FAU’s Center for Environmental Studies found that 88% of Floridians agreed that climate change is happening, almost 65% said Florida’s government should do more to address the impacts of climate change.
Republicans in Florida are not as likely as Democrats to believe climate change is a problem, and these numbers reflect wider trends nationwide. A survey last October by Pew Research found that while 70% of Democrats say human activity contributes a great deal to climate change, Republicans are far less likely to see climate change as human-caused. Pew also found that Republican-leaning voters think climate policies “usually hurt the economy,” but 52% of Democrats and those who lean Democratic say they usually help.
The results from the MediaLab@FAU poll highlight a similar partisan divide, yet there is a strong overall consensus among voters that climate change is a factor in Florida’s extreme weather. With increasing heat and storm intensity, these findings indicate that climate resilience and mitigation strategies may be key concerns for many Florida voters.
State and national trends, however, to indicate a retreat from addressing climate issues. Environmental watchdog groups say that the Trump administration has scrubbed references to climate change on federal websites and removed data. Groups like Public Environmental Data Partners are working to preserve it or back it up, the New York Times reported in March. A year ago this May, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that deleted references to climate change from state statutes.
Poll participants were also asked whether they were considering leaving the state, and if so, why. About a quarter of respondents choose climate-related answers, such as worsening hurricanes (16%) and extreme heat (11%). But these paled in comparison to the most common answer: cost of living (40%).
The MediaLab poll was conducted by Mainstreet Research between April 4 and 9, and posed questions about various topics to 961 voters across the state.
The survey included 961 registered voters statewide and was available in both English and Spanish. The estimated margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.2% at the 95% confidence level.
In conjunction with the poll, whose release coincides with the final days of Florida’s legislative session and first 100 days of the Trump administration, MediaLab’s reporters posed similar questions to average Floridians.
“I’ve seen research that shows increased rain, rising sea levels, warmer ocean waters and slower moving storms are all contributing to stronger and more damaging hurricanes,” said Victor Mendoza, a film teacher in Parkland.
Natali Velasquez, who works in primary education and lives in Coral Springs, said Floridians are probably seeing and feeling the climate shift more than others.
“Climate change is an increasingly pressing concern, particularly in regions like South Florida,” said Velasquez, 25. “Summers are becoming hotter and lasting longer. These shifts not only affect daily life but also contribute to a more intense hurricane season.”
Dr. Joel Lampe, a retired academic in Bible studies who lives in Clearwater, Fla., takes a longer view of the issue.
“I wasn’t around 300 or 400 years ago when hurricanes were still around and there wasn’t climate change, and there is evidence to support that there was quite a bit of destruction, especially with the Native American Seminole nation, who have great stories to tell about hurricanes that came through centuries ago,” said Lampe, 54. “How devastating were they compared to Helene and Milton? I don’t know, but I do believe there are incredible climate patterns that are from global warming.”
MediaLab@FAU reporters Jessica Abramsky and Kaden Horn contributed to this report
This story was produced by MediaLab@FAU, a project of Florida Atlantic University School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, as part of a content sharing partnership with the WLRN newsroom. The reporters can be reached here.
MediaLab is supported by a grant from Press Forward, a national movement to strengthen democracy by revitalizing local news and information.
This story was originally produced by WLRN, South Florida’s only public radio station at 91.3 FM, as part of a content sharing partnership with Miami’s Community News. Read more at WLRN.org.
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