Charlie Crist releases another internal showing dominating Primary lead

A new poll released by Charlie Crist’s campaign for Governor is showing him with a massive lead in the Democratic Primary.

Pollster GBAO Strategies found 52% of likely Democratic voters plan to vote for Crist, compared to 36% who favor Nikki Fried. With a majority of voters behind Crist, that would mean the only pathway for Fried would be to win over nearly all undecided voters and peel off substantial support from Crist.

The results do show the race tightening somewhat. This survey was taken from July 27-31, and the same polling firm in June found Crist leading Fried 55% to 34%. The period covered by the newest survey predates the latest ad blitzes both Crist and Fried have launched statewide heading into the Aug. 23 Democratic Primary.

But the poll is the second one released by Crist’s campaign this week that shows the St. Petersburg Congressman holding a lead over the Agriculture Commissioner. The campaign yesterday touted results from a different pollster, Change Research, that found 47% of likely Democratic voters supporting Crist and 37% preferring Fried.

The latest poll, which surveyed 800 likely Democratic Primary voters through phone interviews and text-to-web, showed Crist with a lead with Democrats across the political spectrum.

Among those who describe themselves as conservative Democrats, Crist holds a massive 37-percentage-point lead, according to a polling memo, but he also holds a 1-point lead among those who classify themselves as liberals. He leads with moderate Democrats by 27 points.

Crist also holds an edge among voters determined to be the most motivated to participate in the year’s Midterm Elections. Among those who rank themselves with a 10 out of 10 in likelihood to vote, Crist holds a 20-point edge.

He also boasts a 33-point edge among senior voters, a reliable bloc as far as actually turning out at the polls.

GBAO pollsters also say he holds an edge in all of Florida’s major media markets, an expensive place for Fried to peel back votes before the Aug. 23 election.

He leads by 32 points in his hometown Tampa Bay market, and by 19 points in Orlando. In Fried’s South Florida home base, Crist leads by 7 points in Miami and by 21 points in West Palm Beach. The race appears much closer in Jacksonville, but Crist still holds a 3-point edge there.