Former Republican Governor-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist, continues to slide in the public polls that pit him against Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Scott’s pollster and the mastermind of his 2010 gubernatorial election win, Tony ‘Macaluso’ Fabrizio, conducted an internal poll for the governor that showed Crist’s double-digit lead over Scott down to an amoebic 4 percentage points.
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The margin of error in Fabrizio’s poll is 3.1, which would put the race at a virtual dead heat. Earlier in November, Quinnipiac conducted a similar poll, which found that Crist was up by 7 percentage points over Scott.
But in the months leading up to Crist announcing that he would challenge Rick Scott in 2014, Crist enjoyed that comfortable double-digit poll lead over Scott. Since he announced, Crist’s poll numbers have now dipped into the low single digit, thanks in part to the Republican Party of Florida and their daily barrage of factual anti-Charlie Chameleon smack downs.
Here are the internal poll’s cross-tab stats the Politico posted.
The survey, taken in late November and obtained Tuesday by POLITICO, puts Crist — a former Republican governor who ran for Senate as an independent and has become a Democrat to try getting his old job back — ahead of his successor 49 percent to 45 percent among likely voters.
Scott’s job approval rating is 46 percent, with 48 percent disapproving. Crist has a mixed, albeit slightly positive image: 47 percent view him favorably, compared to 43 percent who view him unfavorably.
The poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted by Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates from Nov. 24 to Nov. 26. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The Florida governor’s race will perhaps be the most expensive campaign of 2014 and, coming in such a key presidential battleground, might be the hottest race of the midterms.President Barack Obama is 7 points underwater in the Sunshine State, which he narrowly carried last year. A slight majority, 51 percent, view him unfavorably, and 44 percent view him favorably.
A majority of likely Florida voters oppose Obamacare, 55 percent to 38 percent. The intensity of opposition is strong: 48 percent strongly oppose the health care law, compared to 27 percent who strongly favor it.
Fabrizio also polled on which man, Crist or Scott, can better handle 10 different issues.
The incumbent governor has the advantage on six: controlling state spending (+14), reducing taxes (+12), balancing the state budget (+9), turning Florida’s economy around (+5), standing up to Tallahassee insiders (+3) and creating jobs (+2).
Crist has a single-digit advantage on four measures: cares about people like me (+8), is the most honest and ethical (+4), “someone I trust to be governor” (+3) and “shares my beliefs and values” (+2).Crist’s 49 percent to 45 percent lead in the horse race includes leaners. Among those who say they are “definite” in their preference, Crist leads 35 percent to 34 percent.
Among the 48 percent who disapprove of Scott’s job performance, 32 percent feel strongly. Among the 46 percent who approve, only 16 percent approve strongly.
Crist is also polarizing: 30 percent of the 43 percent who view him unfavorably feel strongly, while only 21 percent of the 47 percent who view him favorably feel strongly.
