U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-13) leads all Florida Democrats in the 2022 gubernatorial primary in a recently released St. Pete Polls survey. In the poll, Crist came away with 55 percent of respondents, while likely candidate and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried only drew 22 percent.
Only 11 percent of voters are supporting other candidates and 12 percent are undecided.
The poll was conducted from May 24 through May 26 and had over 2500 respondents, with just under a 2 percent margin of error. The poll took place just days before Fried will likely be officially announcing her candidacy on June 1.
Despite the overwhelming support for Crist, only a fraction of respondents, 30 percent, gave Crist a better than even odds to unseat Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Similarly, 29 percent called the race a coin flip between the two candidates.
From the results, there is even less enthusiasm for Fried to beat DeSantis. Only 14 percent said she would win, and 29 percent said she would win in a coin flip. If Fried defeated DeSantis, she would be the first female governor to hold to the post in Florida, but that did not sway female voters who sided 57 percent for Crist and 20 percent for Fried.
Earlier this month, the Florida Chamber of Commerce released a poll showing DeSantis is leading the top three likely Democratic challengers: Crist, Fried, and U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-10). Demings recently announced she will be challenging Florida Senator Marco Rubio instead.
Specifically, DeSantis would beat Fried and Crist by double digits each in a hypothetical head-to-head general election. Republicans had an overwhelmingly positive view of DeSantis, while Democrats had just the opposite. Notably, No-Party-Affiliated voters who participated in the Florida Chamber poll viewed DeSantis in a positive light by a margin of 57-37.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Background Photo “Florida Capitol” by DXR. CC BY-SA 4.0.
