Ryan Nicol
A survey commissioned by the Debbie Mucarsel-Powell campaign is echoing a recent polling trend, showing a tight contest in Florida’s 26th Congressional District.
The poll, which was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research has Mucarsel-Powell, the Democratic candidate, earning 49 percent of the vote. Her opponent, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo earned 48 percent.
The Curbelo campaign issued a statement questioning those results.
“You know the desperation is reaching panic levels when Democrats cross their fingers and hope no one will notice they’ve released the same exact bogus poll results they tried to trick voters into believing almost exactly two years ago today,” said Joanna Rodriguez, spokesperson for Curbelo.
Rodriquez is referencing a 2016 survey showing Democrat Joe Garcia ahead of Curbelo, 47 percent to 46 percent. Garcia went on to lose the race by double digits.
However, other recent polls of the race have told a similar story to the new Mucarsel-Powell survey. Late last month, a Public Policy Polling survey commissioned by Protect Our Care had Mucarsel-Powell ahead 46 percent to 45 percent. Another poll from the New York Times gave Curbelo a slight lead of 47 percent to 44 percent.
Most analysts still see this contest leaning slightly in favor of Curbelo. However, FiveThirtyEight currently rates the race as a toss-up.
“I’ve been working on behalf of my community for over 20 years, and families here can trust I’ll be a genuine voice for them in Washington on the most important issues, like health care, jobs and the environment,” Mucarsel-Powell said in a statement.
“Residents here know that it’s not enough to say you stand with this community. They’re ready for someone with the courage to truly fight for them.”
The candidates have also recently released dueling ads on health care policy, an issue which has continued to be front-and-center throughout the contest.
