The Florida gubernatorial race is nip-and-tuck as it enters its final week.
A poll of likely voters from Gravis Marketing shows Democrat former Gov. Charlie Crist ahead of Gov. Rick Scott by 2 percent. Crist takes 44 percent in the poll while Scott pulls 42 percent. The remaining 14 percent are undecided. Earlier this month, a Gravis poll showed Scott ahead by 2 percent.
Libertarian Adrian Wyllie, who has consistently polled in the high single digits and often breaks into double digits, was not included in the poll.
The poll shows most likely voters -- 52 percent -- did not watch the debate between Scott and Crist at Broward College during which the Fangate controversy erupted. Of the voters who watched the debate, 37 percent said their opinions of Crist and Scott did not change. Still, the debate did have some impact, with 33 percent saying their opinions of Scott changed because of it while 30 percent said that about Crist.
President Barack Obama could be hurting Crist and other Democrats in Florida. Despite carrying the Sunshine State twice, Obama is upside down in Florida with only 39 percent approving of him while 53 percent disapprove and 9 percent are undecided.
Looking ahead to 2016, the poll shows Florida remains up for grabs in presidential elections. Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., has the narrowest of leads over former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, beating her 46 percent to 45 percent. But Clinton, the heavy favorite for the Democratic nomination, leads U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., 46 percent to 44 percent. Despite hailing from the Sunshine State, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., does worse against Clinton than Ryan does. In that scenario, Clinton takes 46 percent while Rubio garners 39 percent.
The poll of 861 likely voters was taken from Oct. 22-24 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
