Obama Approval Numbers Weak In Florida

President Obama faces a challenge in winning the battleground state of Florida again, according to a new Quinnipiac poll that shows majorities of voters disapprove of his job performance.

The poll shows Obama with a 44 percent job approval rating in the Sunshine State, with 52 percent disapproving. A generic Republican presidential challenger leads Obama by three points, 41 to 38 percent, in a head-to-head matchup. And a 51 percent majority said Obama doesn't deserve a second term.

Obama's standing among independents is at 39 percent, with 55 percent disapproving. There's also a gender gap, with women (49 percent approval) giving him significantly higher marks than men (38 percent approval).

Florida is a pivotal state for Obama's re-election. He carried it in 2008 with 51 percent of the vote, but Democrats struggled there in the 2010 midterms, losing the governorship and the Senate race. On Tuesday, Obama tapped Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) to chair the Democratic National Committee - in part, a nod to the importance of the state in 2012.

The dissatisfaction does not extend to the state's two senators, one of whom (Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson) is up for re-election. Both Nelson and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sport 47 percent approval ratings, nearly double their disapproval numbers. But Nelson only leads an unnamed Republican 43 to 39 percent.

The poll, conducted from March 29-April 4, surveyed 1,499 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points. Live interviewers called land lines and cell phones.

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