DeSantis could see boost among GOP voters from Disney battle: survey

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) could see a boost among Republican voters from his ongoing fight with Disney, according to a new Reuters-Ipsos poll.

Forty-four percent of Republicans in the poll said they had a more favorable view of the governor because of his fight with Disney in the wake of the company's opposition to the state's Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its critics.

The law, which banned classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for kindergarten through third grade, was widely viewed as targeting the LGBTQ community.

Despite the boost among Republicans, 73 percent in the poll overall said they were less likely to back a candidate who sought to punish companies for their political and cultural views. 

While 82 percent of Democrats agreed, a substantial portion of Republicans — 63 percent — also opposed such efforts to target companies for their views, the poll found.

Amid his feud with Disney, DeSantis signed a bill to strip the company of its special power over the district surrounding Disney World, a move that 64 percent of Republicans in the poll agreed with. Another 37 percent of Republicans said that DeSantis was punishing Disney for exercising free speech. 

However, the outgoing Disney-friendly members of board that oversaw the Florida park approved an agreement that DeSantis’ new appointees have complained largely stripped them of their power to oversee Disney World’s development.

In his latest jab at the company, DeSantis suggested last week that the state could build a state prison or a competing amusement park next to the land owned by Disney.

The Reuters-Ipsos poll was conducted April 24-25 with 1,005 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.