Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
The Senate District 19 race is wide open, with no clear front-runner emerging just weeks ahead of the Democratic primary.
A new survey by St. Pete Polls — commissioned by FloridaPolitics.com — found 26 percent of likely Democratic primary voters said they would vote for Ed Narain if the primary were held today. Nearly 23 percent picked Darryl Rouson, followed by 18 percent who picked Augie Ribeiro. Betty Reed pulled 16 percent support. About 17 percent of voters said they were still undecided.
The poll of 538 likely Democratic primary voters in the district was conducted July 28. It has a margin of error of 4.2 percent.
While the survey found all of the candidates have positive favorable ratings, it also appeared to indicate many voters in the district have yet to form an opinion about them. In all four cases, more than 40 percent of respondents said they were “unsure” when asked whether they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the candidate.
According to the survey, 39 percent of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of Narain, while 12 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion. Nearly half of respondents (49 percent) said they were unsure when asked their opinion of Narain.
About 36 percent of voters polled said they had a favorable opinion of Reed, while 16 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of former state lawmaker. Forty-eight percent of voters polled said they were unsure.
The survey found 39 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Rouson, while 20 percent had an unfavorable opinion of him. About 42 percent of people said they were unsure about their opinion of the St. Petersburg lawmaker.
And when it comes to Ribeiro, 47 percent of people said they were unsure when asked whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the St. Petersburg attorney. Nearly 32 percent said they had a favorable opinion; while 21 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion.
The primary is about one month away, but absentee ballots began hitting mailboxes this week. The winner of the race will face a Republican in the fall, but the district is considered a safe Democratic seat and it’s unlikely the Republican will come out on top in November.
