Charlie Crist Up 12 Percent on Rick Scott in St. Leo Poll

St. Leo University is now running polls and its first look at the 2014 Florida gubernatorial race shows former Gov. Charlie Crist, the favorite for the Democratic nomination, with a solid lead over Gov. Rick Scott. Crist beats out Scott 46 percent to 34 percent. Most other recent polls show Crist with a smaller lead. The poll used online sampling which remains very controversial with polling experts.

Crist has strong support among Democrats, said Frank Orlando, an instructor of political science at St. Leo. This is remarkable because Democrats in Florida are giving him a chance, despite his past association with the Republican Party. It will be interesting if this party-switching honeymoon effect will last over the course of the gubernatorial primary.

The poll shows almost a fifth of Republicans -- 17 percent -- backing Crist over Scott.

The online poll of 400 Florida registered voters was taken from Dec. 1-8 and had a margin of error of +/- 5 percent.