The final polls in Florida's contested primary battles for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate and the Republican nomination for Governor are in, showing Rep. Kendrick Meek leading the Democratic contest and State Atty. Gen. Bill McCollum locked in a close race with billionaire health industry executive Rick Scott for the GOP's gubernatorial nomination. Miami Herald:
TALLAHASSEE -- A weekend of last-minute polling shows that the primary race for governor continues to be volatile as a new Quinnipiac University poll released Monday shows Attorney General Bill McCollum's lead narrowing to 39-35 percent against insurgent Rick Scott.
In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek appears to have a steady 39-29 percent lead over Jeff Greene, according to the poll of likely primary voters. Meek held a double-digit lead in the Mason-Dixon poll released Saturday and McCollum led Scott 45-36 percent.
According to the Quinnipiac poll, supporters of Meek and McCollum are less likely to change their mind than are supporters of their opponents:
In the governor's race, 39 percent of Scott backers and 27 percent of McCollum supporters say they still could change their mind, according to the poll. In the U.S. Senate race, 43 percent of Greene supporters, but only 27 percent of Meek's backers say they might change their minds.
While Mason-Dixon and Quinnipiac both show McCollum leading Scott, the Q-poll showed Scott closing in on McCollum. And PPP's final poll in the race shows Scott up by seven:
The Republican race for Governor in Florida is looking like a tight one as it heads into its final day. Our final poll of the race finds Rick Scott leading Bill McCollum 47-40. That advantage is within the poll's margin of error.
If Scott does indeed come out the winner it will be because he destroyed McCollum's reputation with conservative voters. McCollum is ahead 44-39 with moderates, but Scott has the overall lead thanks to a 50-39 advantage with conservatives. 48% of them have an unfavorable opinion of McCollum to only 37% who see him positively after weeks of Scott's attack ads.
PPP also shows Meek leading 51-27. Democrats will nominate state CFO Alex Sink on the gubernatorial side and Republicans will nominate Marco Rubio on the senatorial side. Outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist is running for U.S. Senate as an independent.