Scott Powers
Another poll released Monday morning is showing the Democrats leading in Florida’s gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races, this one from Quinnipiac University, which has both Andrew Gillum and Bill Nelson up by seven points over their opponents, Republicans Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott.
The Quinnipiac University Poll has Gillum, the Tallahassee Mayor, leading DeSantis, the former congressman, by 50 percent to 43 percent.
The same poll has U.S. Sen. Nelson leading Florida Gov. Scott 51 percent to 44 percent.
The polls came out Monday the same time as a St. Pete Polls survey that has Gillum up by five points, and an NBC News/Marist poll that has Gillum up by five points over DeSantis and Nelson up by five points over Scott.
The trio of new polls shows a consistent trend that has had Gillum leading in nearly every survey for more than a month, according to RealClearPolitics, which tracks major polls.
As with the other two polls, the Democrats are holding their leads thanks to the preferences of independent voters, with Democrats enjoying a 13-point advantage in both races. Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, suggested the preference will be difficult for the Republicans to overcome.
“Sen. Nelson has a 13-point edge among independent voters. Candidates with double-digit leads among independents rarely lose,” Brown stated in a news release.
“Mayor Andrew Gillum and his challenger, former Congressman Ron DeSantis, are running the same, 93 — 4 percent among self-identified members of each of their respective parties. But Gillum’s 13-point margin among independents is the difference in the outcome,” Brown added.
The Q Poll was taken from last Monday through Sunday, of 1,142 Flordia likely voters, and Quinnipiac is citing a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
