FL SEN: Following Crist
If he enters the race, Gov. Charlie Crist (R) appears to be a strong favorite to replace retiring Sen. Mel Martinez (R), according to a new survey of FL LVs from GOP-pollster Strategic Vision. In 23 separate Senate ballot tests -- two GOP primary, one Dem primary and 20 general election -- Crist is the only candidate to break 50%.
On one GOP primary ballot, Crist leads Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-14) 54-16%, with Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-13) at 10%, ex-state House Speaker Allan Bense (R) at 7% and ex-state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) at 4%; 9% of GOPers are undec. And in four general-election matchups against potential Dem candidates, Crist prevails 60-26%, 58-24%, 58-27% and 57-29%. In the 16 other matchups tested between other GOP contenders and the Dem field, the highest proportion tallied by a candidate is 35% -- for Mack against Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-17).
An earlier release from the same poll shows 62% of FLans approve of Crist as Gov., up from 58% just before election day. Over the same period, the Gov.'s disapproval fell from 32% to 25%. Crist's 62% rating bests Martinez's 45% approval and Sen. Bill Nelson's (D) 54% mark, but falls just short of Pres. Obama's 64% rating among FL LVs.
Strategic Vision also tested a GOP primary ballot without Crist, finding Mack leading Buchanan 21-11%, with Bense at 8% and Rubio at 5%. In this primary matchup, more than half of GOPers (55%) are undec. Meanwhile, a Dem primary ballot shows Rep. Ron Klein (D-22) leading Meek 12-10%, with Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio (D) at 8% and state Sen. Dan Gelber (D) at 4%. Two-thirds of Dems, 66%, are undec.
The Strategic Vision poll, conducted 2/6-8, surveyed 1,200 FL LVs and has margin of error +/- 2.8%. Margins of error for the party subsamples are +/- 4.4% (Dem) and +/- 4.5% (GOP).
(MATTHEW GOTTLIEB)
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus