Poll: Post-Irma, Rick Scott leads Bill Nelson in Senate race

SCOTT NELSON

Though the margin of just two percent is too close to call, a poll released Wednesday by the Florida Chamber of Commerce suggests a potential sea change in the Senate.

The Chamber poll has Gov. Rick Scott ahead of Sen. Bill Nelson in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, 47 percent to 45 percent.

Scott, at least according to the 615 likely voters polled by live phone calls between Sept. 17 and 24, does not suffer from close association with President Donald Trump. Nor is he in any risk of losing ground in the Democratic “wave” election many observers expect.

Indeed, the Chamber poll shows President Trump with a 48 percent approval rating against 50 percent disapproval.

Scott’s fortunes are buoyed by key metrics driven by his handling of Hurricane Irma, which include 56 percent of likely voters thinking Florida is headed in the right direction, and 91 percent of Floridians — including 84 percent of Democrats — approving of his crisis management in the storm.

This bodes well for the Chamber and affiliated interests.

“Despite Hurricane Irma’s destruction, Floridians believe securing Florida’s long-term future is more important than short-term politics,” said Marian Johnson, Senior Vice President, Political Operations for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. “It’s heartwarming when voters believe Florida is headed in the right direction immediately after a hurricane.”

Per the Chamber: ” The sample size included 263 Democrats, 256 Republicans and 96 Others for a total of 615 respondents statewide.”

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


6 comments

  • Veralynn Sapp

    September 27, 2017 at 8:09 pm

    Rick Scott I would vote for only

  • Mike Trivisonno

    September 28, 2017 at 6:25 am

    Rick Scott is good for Floridians. Bill Nelson is a swamp rat.

    • D.A.Saladino

      October 1, 2017 at 5:53 pm

      You can’t be serious! Scott is another self- serving phonetic.
      Sure he had frequent TV shots during storm – that’s a Governor’s job. The rest of the time he has been either missing in action or messing with our state’s institutions.

  • Alison Foxall

    September 30, 2017 at 4:01 pm

    Not much of a poll. Only two candidates as options and only one of them have actually filed?

  • Ann

    September 30, 2017 at 5:03 pm

    Do not really care for Rick Scott, but ANYBODY is better than Bill Nelson! Gotta vote for Scott!

  • Larry Gillis (Cape Coral)

    October 1, 2017 at 2:38 pm

    Edward Janowski – NPA (no party affiliation)

    Lateresa Jones – Republican

    Tamika Lyles – Democrat

    Bill Nelson – Democrat

    Michael Pompura – Republican (no campaign website found)

    Franklin Shoemaker – American Independent Party

    Pitifully non-inclusive poll, guys. Pitifully small sample of voters. How about the following ?

    Joe Smith – Republican (no campaign website found); Marcia Thorne – NPA (no party affiliation); Joe Wendt – Libertarian

Comments are closed.


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