June 23, 2008

According to the Wall Street Journal , 61% of Florida residents support offshore drilling :

Consumer anger over high gasoline prices is driving a reconsideration of the U.S. ban on coastal drilling for oil and natural gas, even in Florida, where conservation and tourism concerns have long bolstered a bipartisan consensus against offshore production.”

Now, there are signs of a shift in sentiment in the state, particularly in large suburban areas that have been hard hit by skyrocketing home insurance, the housing bust and funding cuts, forced by state budget deficits, to schools and other services.”

A Florida poll taken by Rasmussen Reports Wednesday, after Republican presidential candidate John McCain first called for lifting a 27-year-old ban on U.S. offshore drilling, found that 61% of respondents agreed with him that drilling would lower gas prices. A third of respondents agreed with likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama that lifting the ban “wouldn’t do a thing” to lower gas prices.