Just like the 12th round of a close title fight when both boxers go for the knockout, Attorney General Bill McCollum and health-care executive Rick Scott, the leading candidates for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, are trying to land uppercuts and hooks before the bell, on this, the last day before the primary.
And just like a title fight, the Republican primary battle is close on the scorecards, with two polls released Monday showing different leaders in the race.
McCollum backers pounded on Scott over a blog piece from political activist Nick Egoroff -- who was expelled for four years from the Orange County Republican Executive Committee back in 2009 -- claiming a source from Scotts camp told him that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee demanded $250,000 to endorse Scott over McCollum.
The Huckabee camp quickly fired back. Huckabee, a former presidential candidate who may run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, moved to Florida earlier in the year. Hes been increasingly active in politics in Florida with HuckPAC and endorsed McCollum over Scott for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
Let me be perfectly clear: Governor Mike Huckabee has never had a conversation with Rick Scott or anyone on his staff about such matters, said Hogan Gidley of HuckPAC. In fact, at the time the Scott campaign claims this was being discussed, Governor Huckabee had already early-voted for Bill McCollum.
Added Gidley, Governor Huckabee only endorses who he believes will be the best person for the position and in this case, thats Florida gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum. This lie from a mysterious source within the Rick Scott campaign shows how dishonest and desperate his campaign is.
If Rick Scott made this claim, he needs to publicly and immediately admit this is total lie and if he didnt say it, he needs to fire whichever member of his campaign staff said it, concluded Gidley.
The Scott camp returned the fire, sending out releases attacking McCollum for being inconsistent on everything from immigration to abortion.
Bill McCollum is a career politician who will say or do anything to get elected, even change positions on core issues like abortion or immigration, said Jennifer Baker, a spokeswoman for Scott. His pandering to social conservatives on life issues is more proof that he puts politics over principle and will alter his positions to shore up support. Social conservatives should know that when Rick Scott lays out his position, he will be honest and principled while Bill McCollum will pander like Charlie Crist.
The Scott team released a web video on Monday in a last-minute effort to encourage his supporters to get out to vote Tuesday -- and also take one last shot at McCollum.
Its a clear choice, says Scott in the video before attacking McCollum for backing raising taxes 42 times.
If you believe that Tallahassee is working well, then you ought to vote for my opponent, adds Scott. If you believe its time for new ideas, for somebody to upset the apple cart, then please vote for me.
Two polls released on Monday showed how close the race is -- as one showed Scott ahead and the other had McCollum in front.
A poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) of 304 Republicans taken Aug. 21 and 22 with a margin of error of +/- 5.6 percent had Scott with 47 percent and McCollum at 40 percent. The poll found Scott did better than McCollum among Republicans in terms of being seen favorably -- with Scott being seen favorably by 46 percent of the poll and 33 percent unfavorably compared to McCollums 38 percent favorability and 45 percent unfavorable rating. McCollum led among seniors and moderates, while Scott led with non-seniors and conservatives.
It may be an early night for Democrats, said Dean Debnam, president of PPP, as he pondered the poll finding Scott ahead and numbers showing U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek ahead in the battle for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race. But with polling close on the Republican side, its anyones guess who will emerge as the winner there.
In stark contrast to the PPP poll, another poll released on Monday, this one from Quinnipiac University had different results. Quinnipiac had McCollum slightly ahead of Scott -- 39 percent to 35 percent.
The Quinnipiac poll also had a different result from the PPP poll on favorable and unfavorable ratings. Quinnipiac found more Republicans viewed McCollum favorably than unfavorably -- 39 percent to 37 percent. The Quinnipiac poll also found, unlike its PPP counterpart, that Republicans viewed Scott in an unfavorable light, with 31 percent seeing him favorably and 40 percent unfavorably. The poll also had Meek up in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, but by a smaller margin.
"With one in five GOP voters and more than one in four Democrats undecided, anything is possible, but the internals of the poll are consistent with McCollum and Meek being ahead, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the universitys Polling Institute. They are more favorably viewed than their opponents and fewer of their backers say they might change their minds."
The poll, like the PPP survey, was taken on Aug. 21 and 22. The poll of 771 Republicans had a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.
Reach Kevin Derby at derby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
