Not only does Alex Sink have a 7-point lead in the latest PPP poll, but Republican Rick Scott’s unfavorable numbers – especially among independents – are some of the worst in the country.
The brutal GOP Civil War drove Scott’s numbers into the ground as he spent the race attacking his opponent instead of attacking Florida’s problems.
A major unanswered question: With national Republicans “reeling” from Scott’s victory, a planned unity rally scrapped, will the millionaire fraudster even be able to unite his party?
Sink starts out ahead
Rick Scott’s an unpopular candidate with a divided party and because of that Alex Sink begins the general election for Governor in Florida with a 7 point lead. Sink has 41% to 34% for Scott and 8% for Bud Chiles.
Sink is doing well because she has a higher degree of party unity than Scott does and because she’s the favorite with independents. 72% of Democrats say they’ll vote for Sink while only 57% of Republicans are committed to voting for Scott. Sink also has a 37-28 advantage with independents.
Scott has dreadful personal favorability numbers with 49% of voters holding an unfavorable opinion of him while only 28% see him favorably. His numbers are even worse with independents than they are with the population at large- a 54% majority of them see him in a negative light.
Sink is still largely unknown but she has good numbers with the people who do know her. 35% have a favorable opinion to 23% with a negative one. Scott’s chances in the general election may rest on his ability to define her with the 42% of folks who have no opinion right now before she gets the chance to define herself.
Republicans hope that Bud Chiles will play a spoiler role for Sink’s chances this fall but at this point he’s actually getting 8% of GOP votes and only 6% of Democratic votes, suggesting that for now his presence in the race is hurting Scott.
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Tags: 2010, alex sink, Bill McCollum, Florida, GOP Civil War, poll, Rick Scott
