Two new polls out of Florida today regarding the upcoming U.S. Senate race. First, there’s the one conducted by the Chamber of Commerce:
The latest poll released by the Florida Chamber of Commerce gives Senator Bill Nelson the lead in a hypothetical match-up against Governor Rick Scott for reelection in 2018. The newest numbers released on Tuesday morning continue a trend of Nelson leading Scott in the polls.
Nelson leads Scott by six points by a margin of 48% to 42%. Both men have strong support within their parties while Nelson holds an 8 point edge over independents.
The Governor does hold a 50% approval rating in the poll as oppose to Nelson’s 47%. Bill Nelson has already began fundraising online for the 2018 match-up, while Scott has yet to officially announce but there is still plenty of time to make a decision.
The second came from St. Leo University:
St. Leo University released a poll on Tuesday showing Nelson getting 38.7 percent of Floridians while Scott pulls in 34.4 percent of them, just within the poll’s 4.5 percent margin of error. While 10 percent of those surveyed back other candidates, 17 percent of Floridians are undecided. Also on Tuesday, St. Leo unveiled a poll showing a majority of Floridians approving of Scott’s tenure in Tallahassee.
There have been three other polls released this month which show Nelson ahead by single digits but neither he nor Scott can claim a majority of voters. On Monday, the Florida Chamber of Commerce released a poll showing Nelson ahead 48 percent to 42 percent. Earlier this month, Mason-Dixon had Nelson with 46 percent while Scott took 41 percent. A poll from the University of North Florida had Nelson up 44 percent to 38 percent.
On Tuesday, St. Leo University released a poll showing Scott with a clear lead with Florida Republicans. Scott takes 45 percent of Florida Republicans while a quarter of them--26 percent--are undecided. U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney pulls 10 percent while 7 percent back U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis who briefly ran for the Senate last year before U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio decided to run for another term. Two other Republicans who pulled out of the Senate race when Rubio announced he would run again were also included in the poll. Former U.S. Rep. David Jolly, who was unseated in November by former Gov. Charlie Crist, takes 5 percent while Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera gets 1 percent. Seven percent of Florida Republicans are for other candidates.
Let’s get ready for one nasty and expensive race. Click here to donate and get involved with Nelson’s re-election campaign.