Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., the chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), was scheduled to attend a fundraising event for Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) in Lakeland on Wednesday but with heavy rains hitting North Florida and a state of emergency declared in 26 counties, the event has been canceled.

An event Scott and Christie were holding in Largo to showcase the elimination of the manufacturing sales tax was also canceled.

Gov. Rick Scott was scheduled on Wednesday to be in Largo with Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., to focus on how Floridas economy benefited from the elimination of the manufacturing sales tax. But severe weather conditions in the Panhandle, which is facing heavy rains and possible flooding, forced the cancellation of that event as well as Scotts event in Orlando urging President Barack Obama to protect human rights in Venezuela.

The governors office announced at 7 a.m, on Wednesday morning that the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee has been activated to Level Two.

Unlike other polls which show a narrowing race, Quinnipiac University released a poll on Wednesday morning which finds former Gov. Charlie Crist, the leading Democratic gubernatorial contestant despite holding three statewide offices as a Republican, with a solid lead over Gov. Rick Scott in the Florida gubernatorial contest. The poll shows Crist taking 48 percent while Scott garners 38 percent. Quinnipiac had Crist leading Scott by 8 percent in a January poll while he was up by 7 percent in a November poll.