Disney Is Seriously Unpopular With GOP Primary Voters In Key States, And That Could Help Ron DeSantis, Polling Suggests

Polling data from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' campaign suggests that his feud with Walt Disney Co. DIS could be boosting his favorability among voters. 

According to The Messenger, Ryan Tyson, the campaign's chief pollster, presented to fundraisers behind closed doors on Thursday and shared that Disney was deeply unpopular among early state Republicans. 

The Messenger reported that Tyson's survey showed Disney had a net negative "unfavorable" rating of -44% in Iowa, -35% in New Hampshire, -26% in South Carolina, and -45% in Nevada.

In a leaked audio obtained by FloridaPolitics.com, Tyson told donors, "I want to be very clear about this point: The disconnect from the ruling class and their view of Disney and the voters, the primary voters, and their view of Disney could not be wider at this point."

"It's a chasm. Parents are seeing the trash their children get from Disney+, through the media and whatnot, and they're over it," he said. 

"The campaign thinks this is a very good issue for primary voters," Dan Eberhart, the CEO of drilling services company Canary, LLC who fundraised for DeSantis in Miami for a call-a-thon earlier this week, told Insider.

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Eberhart told the publication that Disney was the "800-pound gorilla of kids' content."

"It's all woke," he said, using a term conservatives generally use to deride progressive activism. "You can't find a traditional family anywhere."

Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump attacked DeSantis, saying the latter's battle with Disney was unfortunate for the Florida economy. 

"Look at Disney and what a mess it is," Trump said in a video on Truth Social. "He could have worked out an easy settlement, but he wanted to show the fake news how tough a guy he is. He's not."

According to a survey, Disney's image has taken a beating since the unsavory development unfolded. Disney has dropped 12 spots to the 77th position in the 2023 Axios Harris Poll 100. The poll also revealed that Disney's reputational quotient fell from 73.4 in 2022 to 70.9 in 2023. The company's streaming business is currently facing intensifying competition and the heat of shareholder activism.

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