(The Biden administration has since said that it will aid those districts by paying for any penalties DeSantis imposes on them).
In fact, most Americans back masking requirements in schools, and Florida is no different: Around 62 percent of voters in Florida support rules requiring masks for students and staff in public schools.
Now, new polling shows that DeSantis may have harmed himself politically over his stubborn stance on masking and other issues related to the pandemic.
A Political Matrix/The Listener Group survey published this week asked Florida residents whether they had positive or negative views of the governor over his handling of the pandemic.
Just 43.3 percent said they viewed DeSantis favorably on that issue, while 53.8 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of him.
The dissatisfaction felt by Florida voters has put DeSantis at a disadvantage against his potential political opponents, as he is up for reelection in 2022.
The state also has the third-highest rate of COVID deaths in the nation for the past two weeks, with more than 227 Floridians dying per day on average. »
