Post-RNC FL poll # 2: Convention watchers (mostly GOP) loved Romney, Rubio, Clint speeches

While Public Policy Polling showed the Republican National Convention wasn't much help to Republican Mitt Romney in Florida, polling firm Survey USA conducted a survey for St. Petersburg's WFLA-TV that showed the RNC was effective -- for those who watched it.

A big difference between the polls: The Survey USA poll isn't a general or likely voter poll. It sampled far more Republicans than Democrats (who outnumber Republicans in Florida) because it gauged convention watchers. And most convention-watchers were Republicans.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of all of this is that it shows how close-minded partisans have become. They flock to hear their side arm them with talking points and they eschew the other side.

Still, the poll has value, especially regarding independents (although, again, conservative-leaning independents might have been more likely to watch and vote GOP anyway). A clear majority of Independents found that Romney and Rubio's speech helped in relatively equal measures. But Clint Eastwood's odd and rambling speech wasn't as well received, with only 41 percent saying the Eastwood address helped Romney and 24 percent saying it hurt. Put another way, that's a 23 percent negative shift away from Romney when compared to the helped/hurt numbers for those who rated Rubio's speech.

From SurveyUSA:

Post-RNC FL poll: Romney gets no bounce, Clint's speech flopped, Rubio rocked

From Public Policy Polling, a firm that typically surveys for Democrats but often has solid numbers:

PPP's newest Florida poll, conducted completely after the Republican convention, finds no change in the Presidential race there. Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney 48-47, exactly as he did on our last poll of the state five weeks ago.

The Republican convention being held in Tampa appears to have been a wash. 33% of voters say it made them more likely to vote for Republicans, 33% said it made them less likely to vote for Republicans, and 34% said it didn't make a difference to them either way.

Romney did see a slight bump in his favorability numbers. 49% of voters have a positive opinion of him to 47% with a negative one. That +2 spread is up a net 5 points from late July when his breakdown was 46/49.

The rest of the speakers at the convention seem to have been more of a hit with voters. Condoleezza Rice's numbers in particular stand out. 66% of voters see her favorably to 22% with a negative opinion. That's up a net 13 points from our last poll when she was already pretty darn popular at 59/28. Even with Democrats Rice comes in at 47/36. Another star from the convention is Ann Romney. 56% of voters give her good marks to 22% with an unfavorable opinion and she comes close to breaking even with Democrats at 32/39.

Clint Eastwood's speech may have drawn more attention than anything else that happened at the convention and it didn't go over particularly well with voters. 36% say they have a favorable opinion of his remarks to 41% with a negative opinion. While Eastwood's speech didn't do much to help Romney it doesn't seem to have hurt his own reputation either. 72% of Floridians have a favorable opinion of him to 11% with a negative one and even with Democrats the spread is 58/20. Those are certainly numbers any politician would die for.

The biggest winner of the convention on the Republican side may have been Marco Rubio. He now has a 51% approval rating with 33% of voters disapproving of him. Those are the best numbers PPP has found for him since he took office. He is pretty universally beloved by GOP voters at 85/11 and even with Democrats he has a 26% approval rating, more crossover support than we usually find for folks these days.

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