2026 Campaign

New Congressional Map Puts Jenkins Within 2% of Haridopolos, According to Latest Polling

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By Robert W. Burns III
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SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. — New polling commissioned for Democrat Jennifer Jenkins’ congressional campaign shows her closing to within two points of U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos in Florida’s 8th Congressional District, once voters hear more about her background and priorities.

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The survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm frequently retained by Democratic campaigns and committees, found Haridopolos leading Jenkins 44% to 35% on a standard head-to-head ballot, with 21% of voters undecided. But after respondents were read biographical information about Jenkins, including that she has lived in the district more than 20 years, built a career in education, unseated a future Moms for Liberty co-founder on the Brevard County School Board in 2020, and is campaigning on lowering costs, protecting Social Security and expanding access to health care, the race tightened to 43% for Haridopolos and 41% for Jenkins.

Jenkins also holds a wide lead among independent voters in the poll, 52% to 23%, and Haridopolos’ job approval numbers come in underwater in the district, with 47% approving and 50% disapproving. That is notable given the district’s Republican lean: PPP’s memo puts President Trump’s 2024 margin in the newly drawn lines at 13 points, though data analyst Matt Isbell has separately pegged the reconfigured seat closer to a 16-point Trump district. Forty-one percent of respondents named inflation and the cost of living as their top issue. Haridopolos sees his endorsement by President Trump as a significant advantage.

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“This poll confirms what I hear every day across our district: people are tired of career politicians in Washington who promise results but deliver more of the same while the cost of housing, insurance, groceries and health care keeps climbing,” Jenkins said in a statement announcing the results. “Once voters hear my story and learn who I’m fighting for, this race becomes a dead heat.”

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Haridopolos retains a significant fundraising edge heading into the fall, having raised more than $1.7 million to Jenkins’ roughly $700,000, and holding close to $1.2 million on hand compared to her roughly $130,000.

Jenkins’ path to the FL-8 matchup has shifted this cycle. She initially ran against U.S. Rep. Randy Fine in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, before pivoting to challenge Haridopolos in May after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new congressional map that kept Brevard County whole while adding a part of eastern Orange County around the University of Central Florida. Haridopolos, an Indian Harbour Beach Republican serving his first term, won his 2024 race under the old district lines by more than 25 points.

In a candidate questionnaire with The Space Coast Rocket, Jenkins pointed to Haridopolos’ formal reprimand by the Florida Senate for failing to disclose his financial interests while serving in the Legislature as a reason voters should question his transparency in Congress.

PPP surveyed 633 registered voters in Florida’s 8th Congressional District from July 17 to July 18, 2026, with 72% of interviews conducted by text and 28% by landline. The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. As with any survey commissioned by a candidate’s own campaign, the results should be read alongside independent, nonpartisan polling as it becomes available.

Jenkins is the Democratic nominee for Florida’s 8th Congressional District and will face Haridopolos in the Nov. 3 general election.

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