New Florida Chamber Statewide Poll Shows Governor Rick Scott Leading Charlie Crist by Five Percentage Points

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Edie Ousley, 850-521-1231 or 850-251-6261
eousley@flchamber.com

TALLAHASSEE, FL. (October 30, 2014) – The latest Florida Chamber of Commerce Political Institute poll shows likely voters supporting Governor Rick Scott over Charlie Crist and Adrian Wyllie. In head-to-head matchups, the poll of likely Florida voters shows Governor Scott with 44 percent, Crist with 39 percent and Wyllie with 4 percent.

“While the only poll that really matters is the one that takes place on Election Day, the Florida Chamber’s most recent poll shows Floridians are listening to the candidates and appear poised to keep Florida moving in the right direction,” said Marian Johnson, Senior Vice President of Political Strategy.

The poll, conducted October 27-29, surveyed 508 likely voters through telephone interviews by Cherry Communications. Of those surveyed, 42 percent were Republican, 41 percent were Democrats and 17 percent were other parties. The margin of error is +/- 4 percent.

Key polling results also show, voter confidence is strengthening. More Floridians, 43 percent, believe Florida is headed in the right direction as compared to 40 percent in September’s poll. Voters who believe Florida is headed in the wrong direction has dropped to 38 percent from 44 percent one month ago.

Additional poll results show:

• Governor Scott leading Crist by 47 percent to 42 percent among Floridians that have already voted.
• Governor Scott leads in all age categories 40 and above.
• Governor Scott is leading among males, while Crist leads among females.

In the race for Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer, incumbents Pam Bondi, Adam Putnam and Jeff Atwater appear headed for victory.

• Attorney General Pam Bondi leads challenger George Sheldon by 48 to 32 percent,
• Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is leading Thaddeus Hamilton by 46 to 30 percent, and
• CFO Jeff Atwater leads challenger William Ranking 50 to 32 percent.

In terms of amendments on the ballot, the poll shows Amendment 2 failing to reach the 60 percent threshold for passage with 55 percent supporting and 40 percent opposing.

Please Note: The samples for the polls conducted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce Political Institute are consistently drawn from likely voters, meaning those voters who have the propensity and past performance of voting in elections, rather than simply including registered voters. Voters are again screened for likelihood of voting.

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Established in 1916 as Florida’s first statewide business advocacy organization, the Florida Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business and the state’s largest federation of employers, chambers of commerce and associations, aggressively representing small and large businesses from every industry and every region. The Florida Chamber works within all branches of government to affect those changes set forth in the annual Florida Business Agenda, and which are seen as critical to secure Florida’s future. The Florida Chamber works closely with its Political Operations and the Florida Chamber Foundation. Visit www.FloridaChamber.com for more information.