U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., can expect a fight on his hands if Gov. Rick Scott opposes him for a fourth term in 2018, a new poll shows.
Nelson has increasingly been signaling that he plans to run again in 2018 while Scott, who will be term-limited then, has opened the door to a Senate bid.
Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to Democrats, unveiled a poll on Wednesday which shows Nelson with a slight lead over Scott. Matched up in a potential 2018 race, Nelson takes 46 percent while Scott garners 42 percent.
U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., is a potential Senate hopeful in 2018 but he was not included in the poll.
Now in the middle of his third term, Nelson remains unknown to almost a quarter of those surveyed while 42 percent approve of him and 34 percent disapprove of him.
Scott is upside down in the PPP poll with 45 percent disapproving of him while 43 percent approve of him. Recent polls have shown Scott bouncing back, including some which have put his nose above water with more people approving of his performance in Tallahassee than disapproving of it.
The poll also found 63 percent of those surveyed support a proposed state constitutional amendment on medical marijuana expected to be on next year’s ballot while 29 percent oppose it. Despite starting off strong in the polls, a similar measure fell short last year, failing to clear the 60 percent threshold needed to be added to the Florida Constitution.
The poll of 814 Florida voters was taken from Sept. 11 through Sept. 13 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
