Rick Scott doesn’t believe close polling against Debbie Mucarsel-Powell

While the primary election is still days from being over, pollsters long since have turned their attention to what they say is a close race between Sen. Rick Scott and likely Democratic opponent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

But the Naples Republican says the polls are wrong and that he historically has outperformed public surveys.

“We’re going to have a big win. If you look at all my races, the polls have generally been way off,” Scott said Saturday in Jacksonville. “In all three of my races, polls said I was going to lose … because they’re not accurate.”

Scott noted he has been to all counties in Florida, where he has talked “about the issues that people care about,” including inflation, getting national debt “under control,” the importance of a “strong military” (rather than a “woke” one),  and getting “out of these wars” overseas.

“Weakness causes conflict,” Scott said.

Polling of a potential race between Mucarsel-Powell and Scott has been all over the place.

The latest survey from Florida Atlantic University’s PolCom Lab shows Scott with a marginal 47% to 43% lead over his Democratic opponent.

Polling from Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) shows Scott ahead of Mucarsel-Powell by 10 points (52-42%) with 7% of voters undecided.

Other Florida Atlantic University polls showed a 16-point race and a two-point difference, and a Florida Chamber of Commerce poll that showed a 15-point gap earlier this Summer.

Questions remain, meanwhile, about Scott’s popularity after a USA Today survey released last Monday. The R+8 poll showed him at just 35% approval, and suggested the Senator has issues across various demographics.

While Scott is treading water with men (45% approval against 44% disapproval), women voters surveyed here seem to be in revolt, with just 28% approving of Scott and 52% disapproving.

Meanwhile, Scott is also underwater with all groups of voters under the age of 65, while treading water with senior citizens with 40% approval and 40% disapproval.

With those under 35, he is at 35% approval and 57% disapproval. He is at -19 with voters between 35 and 49 years of age, and at the same level with those between 50 and 64.

Yet his performance with Republicans could be most concerning. The Naples Republican has just 59% approval in his own party, against 24% disapproval. Meanwhile, an additional 10% claim to have never heard of the man who has held statewide office continuously since the beginning of 2011.