U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Gov. Rick Scott are running close in the final days of the campaign in one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country.
The Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida (UNF) released a poll of likely voters on Tuesday which shows a very close race as Nelson takes 47 percent with Scott right on his heels with 46 percent while 7 percent remain undecided.
Scott has the backing of 86 percent of Republicans while Nelson has the support of 81 percent of Democrats. Nelson gets 9 percent of Republicans while Scott takes 10 percent of Democrats. Nelson leads with voters outside the major parties 53 percent to 36 percent.
Dr. Michael Binder, the faculty director of the Public Opinion Research Lab at UNF, said the race will come down to the undecided voters.
“The Senate race with Nelson and Scott is neck and neck, and the few remaining undecided voters are going to play a pivotal role in the outcome,” Binder said on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump, who carried Florida in 2016, is upside down in the poll with 51 percent of those surveyed disapproving of him and 45 percent approving of him with 86 percent of Democrats disapproving of him and 84 percent of Republicans approving him. A majority of voters outside the major parties--57 percent--disapprove of Trump while 36 percent of them approve of him. Trump is scheduled to appear at a rally in Fort Myers on Wednesday night and another one in Pensacola on Saturday.
The poll of 1,051 likely voters was taken from Oct. 23 through Oct. 26 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
