Daniella Levine Cava internal poll gives her 11-point lead in runoff versus Steve Bovo

Fresh off clinching a spot in the Miami-Dade County mayoral runoff, the Daniella Levine Cava campaign released an internal poll showing her leading that November contest by 11 points.

Levine Cava and Esteban “Steve” Bovo secured spots in the runoff Tuesday night, topping former Mayor Alex Penelas and the rest of the seven-person field.

Levine Cava’s internal survey, conducted by Change Research, shows her leading Bovo 39%-28% with 33% of voters still undecided.

The survey ran from Aug. 3-6, prior to Tuesday’s election contest. According to the Levine Cava campaign, they sought to test hypothetical General Election match-ups, including a potential face-off between Levine Cava and Bovo.

The race features an interesting dynamic. Though the mayoral race is technically nonpartisan, Levine Cava and Bovo have both clearly carved out ideological lanes.

Levine Cava has framed herself as the progressive in the contest, securing endorsements from the Florida chapter of the Service Employees International Union and other left-leaning groups.

To that end, the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) endorsed Levine Cava’s bid Wednesday.

“Daniella is a lifelong public servant and has been a tireless advocate for the residents of South Florida throughout her career,” said FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo.

“From building efficient and effective county-wide transit, to solving the affordability crisis and preparing for sea level rise, she is ready to lead Miami-Dade on day one. We are looking forward to working with Daniella to flip the Miami-Dade County mayoral seat blue and we are excited to watch her make history in Miami-Dade as the first woman Mayor of the most populous county in our state.”

Bovo, meanwhile, is positioning himself as the conservative option. Ahead of Tuesday’s race, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez and future House Speaker Daniel Perez both backed Bovo’s bid.

Internal polls should be analyzed with a healthy dose of skepticism. While those results can be accurate, campaigns always have an incentive to withhold internal polls with poor results and publicly release those favorable to their bid.

Nevertheless, the Levine Cava camp seems confident heading into November.

“The first round showed how Daniella Levine Cava has built great excitement, enthusiasm and support among voters across Miami-Dade County,” said Christian Ulvert, a senior advisor to the campaign.

“This poll only reaffirms the results we saw yesterday that shows Miami-Dade residents are ready to make history in November. We are tired of the broken promises and failed policies that have held our community back for decades. Enough with the corruption, cronyism and political games that longtime politicians like Steve Bovo represent.”