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Politics

Rick Scott Edges Bill Nelson in New 2018 Poll

September 29, 2017 - 12:30pm
Rick Scott and Bill Nelson
Rick Scott and Bill Nelson

A new poll shows Gov. Rick Scott with a slight edge on U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., as Floridians gets ready for what is expected to be a high profile and tight Senate race next year. 

St. Leo University released a poll on Friday showing Scott pulling 35 percent with Nelson right behind him at 33 percent. But, with more than a year until the general election, 21 percent of voters are undecided while 11 percent back other candidates. 

Most polls have shown a close race between two candidates who are familiar to Florida voters. Scott is closing out his second term in Tallahassee while Nelson is at the end of his third term in the Senate. Earlier this week, the Florida Chamber of Commerce released a poll which showed Scott taking 47 percent with Nelson pulling 45 percent. 

The St. Leo poll has Scott moving in the right direction. Back in March, Nelson had a 39 percent to 34 percent over the Republican governor. In March, Scott was seen as favorable by 56 percent of voters and unfavorable by 39 percent of them. In the new poll, 62 percent of those surveyed see Scott in a favorable light while 30 percent view him unfavorably. 

The poll finds Scott has a strong grasp on the Republican nomination. More than half of Florida Republicans surveyed--51 percent--are for Scott while 28 percent are undecided. Potential candidate U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., gets 8 percent while former attorney and Libertarian Senate hopeful Augustus Invictus, who spoke at white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia back in August,  takes 6 percent. Tax preparer Marcia Thorne pulls 2 percent. 

Frank Orlando, the director of the Saint Leo University Polling Institute and a political scientist professor at that Pasco County university, said Scott was benefiting from his performance during Hurricane Irma earlier this month.  

“It seems as though voters are giving Rick Scott good grades for his leadership during Hurricane Irma,” Orlando said on Friday.  “Every corner of the state was affected, and this type of crisis can produce a sort of rally-around-the-flag effect for the executive when handled well.”

The poll of 500 Florida residents was taken from Sept. 10-Sept. 16 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percent. 

Comments

what a choice. If I have to choose between a criminal and an old guy, I think I'll still choose the old guy. Criminals never change, regardless of how many times they plead the 5th...

Hurray for Rick Scott! I voted for him TWICE as Florida Governor - and will continue to support our "Business Politician" the vote(s) he needs to get rid of Bill Nelson. I'll get him more than my Single Vote by SUPPORTING him all the way!

Yes Scott is the man . Nelson must go.

VERY TRUE MATE. RICK SCOTT 2018 !!!

Ha..Ha...Bye bye Billy ....no matter who wins Senate We the People of Pres.Trump know they do 200% BETTER in weeks than you Done in Years.....Maybe you and OpieBama can find another Country to RUIN...maybe Try OUTERSPACE....cause you sure have been a Space Cadet in BRAIN wise...

Can one of you Boneheads please explain what Rick Scott has done for Florida and The Hurricsne????No Gas people sleeping and leaving cars 3rd world country scene POS Scott had no plan or answers What bubble do you people live in

"Boneheads"?!?...We could "explain" it all to you "Scott",.. But YOU wouldn't understand it anyway...

Go Scott! I know you will help Trump drain the swamp and Make America Great Again!

Senator "Zippy the ride-along-rocketeer Nelson" is packing and scheduled for "blast off into parts unknown" in November of 2018... and will be unavailable to you... as usual.

Yay!!! GO SCOTT! At least we can count on Gov. Scott to push the Senate to pass President Trump's agenda. Drain the swamp whether it be Republicans or Democrats. We need to get into law as fast as possible all the great things Pres Trump wants to do for us.

As much as I dislike Scott......Nelson is worse.

Scott only shows up here in the Panhandle around election time, and then not very often!

and Nelson doesn't do Town Halls because that would be like - work. I see him referred to as Bill "do nothing" Nelson which is a perfect description

Exactly! And all Nelson & Gwen Graham did was attack Scott & Trump during Florida's hurricanes. Both DO-NOTHING POLITICIANS.

I'd hate to admit it but, if I HAD to vote today, I'd probably vote for Scott and afterwards wash down entirely from the disgust. Nelson just hasn't helped and he's NOT done much of anything for the Space Coast!

that the Bill "do nothing" Nelson we know.

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