Gov. Rick Scott has pulled at least even with rank opportunist Charlie Crist in the Florida gubernatorial race, according to a new Voter Survey Service poll commissioned by Sunshine State News. In 2010, VSS’s polling of the corresponding race came closest to matching the outcome, according to the Sunshine State News.
Scott holds a narrow, and indeed statistically insignificant, 45-44 lead over Crist. However, Scott’s 49-42 lead among respondents who say they have an excellent or good chance of voting in the November election is outside the margin of error. Because 2014 is an “off-year” election in which large-scale voter turnout is not all a given, VSS’s president says he could “easily make the case” that Scott’s true lead is 3 or 4 points.
Go ahead and make it; I won’t object.
Moreover, the trend has not been Crist’s friend. The tool of Florida trial lawyers had been leading Scott throughout the year.
Polling by St. Leo’s University confirms Crist’s slippage. Once, the ex-governor, ex-Republican had a double-digit lead. Last week, his lead in that polling was down to 4 points.
Scott’s surge is triggered in part by increased support from Republicans. Presumably, Republicans are learning that the Crist they once voted for has transformed himself into a liberal Democrat.
President Obama and his “care” are also hurting Crist. According to the VSS survey, 51 percent of Florida voters are disinclined to vote for a candidate who supports Obamacare, which Crist does vociferously, while only 39 percent take the opposite view. Similarly, according to the St. Leo poll, 50 percent of Floridians disapprove of the president’s job performance, compared to 39 who approve.
It’s still early in the race of course. The same news six months from now would make my week.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.