A recent poll shows U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-FL-13) leading Florida Governor Ron DeSantis 45.3% to 43.8%, with 10.8% of the respondents undecided. However, Crist’s lead is not outside the poll’s margin of error.
The poll also shows DeSantis leading Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried 45.1% to 41.8%, with 13.1% undecided.
The poll, conducted by St. Pete Polls, surveyed 3,952 likely Florida voters from August 2 to August 3. The poll used random samples of registered voter lists supplied by the state of Florida as of June 15. The poll was conducted through an automated phone call polling system and results were then weighted to account for proportional differences between the respondents’ demographics and the demographics of the active voter population for the state of Florida. The margin of error was 1.6%.
In May, Politico reported that a Florida Chamber of Commerce poll “showed DeSantis with double-digit leads in head-to-head matchups with U.S. Reps. Val Demings and Charlie Crist as well as Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. Crist has already jumped into the race, with both Fried and Demings expected to follow. ”
Of the registered voters who participated in the most recent poll, 36.5% were Democratic, 38.6% were Republican, and 25% were independent. Republicans and Democrats both primarily stuck with their parties. However, Crist received more support from independents than DeSantis with 45.9% compared to 39.9%, while the other 14.2% of independents were undecided. Also, 51.2% of independents in the poll disapproved of DeSantis’ job as governor.
With regards to race, 62.1% of voters in the poll were “white non-Hispanic,” 13.1% “Black Non-Hispanic,” 2.4% “Asian or Pacific Islander,” 16.6% “Hispanic,” and 5.7% were “Other or Unknown.” According to the poll, DeSantis was favored among white voters, with 51.5%, compared to Crist earning 39.6%, and 8.9% were undecided.
Crist was favored by all other races with the largest gap coming with black voters. Black voters favored Crist 68% to 16%, with 16% undecided. Hispanics respondents chose Crist over DeSantis 46.6% to 40.9%, with 12.5% undecided.
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Casey Owens is a contributing writer for The Florida Capital Star. Follow him on Twitter at @cowensreports. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Florida Capitol” by DXR. CC BY-SA 4.0.
