PPP Poll: Charlie Crist and Alex Sink Would Rout Rick Scott

Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, unveiled a poll on Tuesday that showed, after six months in office, Gov. Rick Scott remains deeply unpopular with voters in the Sunshine State and is, for the moment, in bad shape to be re-elected in 2014.

The poll found that 33 percent of those surveyed approved of Scotts performance in office while 59 percent disapproved of the Republican governor. In March, Scott stood with 32 percent approval and 55 percent disapproval. The poll also found Scott could help swing Florida for Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012. While 26 percent said Scotts first six months as governor would make them more likely to vote for the Republican presidential candidate in 2012, 40 percent of those surveyed said the governors actions were leading them to vote for Obama.

While Scott beat then-CFO Alex Sink, the Democratic nominee, in the closest election in Florida history in 2010, if the election were held today Sink would rout Scott 57 percent to 35 percent.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the Republican Party to run for the U.S. Senate seat with no party affiliation in 2010, took 56 percent against Scott, who garnered 34 percent. While there have been rumors about Crist joining the Democrats, the former governor has remained independent for the moment. A plurality of voters -- 43 percent -- want Crist to join the Democrats, while 26 percent said he should not. Democrats generally supported the idea of Crist joining them, with 46 percent welcoming the former governor while 18 percent opposed it.

If Charlie Crist has a future in electoral politics, its probably as a Democrat, opined Dean Debnam, the president of PPP. And while he would trounce Rick Scott, the reality is that so would a ham sandwich as the governor continues to become more and more unpopular.

The poll of 848 voters across Florida was taken between June 16-19 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.