"When the campaign began, everyone talked about how unusual the Florida governor's race would be because two governors, incumbent Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist, were facing off," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, on Wednesday. "But, as it enters the home stretch, it's just like many other races across the country: There is a sizable gender gap; tens of millions are being spent on negative TV ads and there is a dead heat in which neither candidate has an edge.
Men break Scotts way with the Republican taking 46 percent, Crist 38 percent and Wyllie 10 percent. But women prefer Crist with 45 percent backing the Democrat, 39 percent behind Scott and 6 percent for Wyllie.
Both major party candidates have nailed down their base, with Scott getting 81 percent of Republicans and 86 percent of Democrats behind Crist. Independent voters lean Crist's way, with 41 percent backing him while 38 percent prefer Scott and 11 percent go for Wyllie.
"For all the money spent on this race, it now appears the winner will be the one whose organization excels at the blocking and tackling of politics -- getting their voters to the polls," Brown said.
Most voters -- 90 percent -- say their minds are made up. But 8 percent of Crist voters, 12 percent of Scott voters and 22 percent of Wyllie voters say they could change their minds.
Both Scott and Crist are upside down. Only 40 percent of those surveyed see Scott as favorable while 48 percent see him as unfavorable. Crists numbers are in the same ballpark, with 42 percent viewing him as favorable and 47 percent as unfavorable. Wyllie is above water but largely unknown, with 8 percent seeing him as favorable, 6 percent viewing him as unfavorable and 83 percent saying they dont know enough about him.
"Will nice guys finish last in the Florida governor's race?" Brown asked. According to voters, there are no nice guys in this race, since neither Scott nor Crist is viewed favorably.
"The Florida governor's race challenges the idea that voters won't vote for a candidate they don't like, Brown added. In the Sunshine State this year, voters definitely are voting for the lesser of two evils."
The poll of 984 likely voters was taken from Oct. 14-20 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
