Poll: Bill McCollum Is Back On Top In Republican FL-GOV Primary

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum
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And now you know why politicians run negative ads. A new poll from Mason-Dixon out today shows Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum back in the lead of the Florida Republican gubernatorial primary race. The poll shows McCollum leading former hospital executive Rick Scott 34-30. That’s a huge swing from Mason-Dixon’s last poll, which showed Scott ahead 37-31 only a week ago.

The poll is great news for McCollum, who many observers had all but written off after Scott’s multi-million dollar ad blitz knocked McCollum, the establishment choice, into a solid second place. If Mason-Dixon’s new numbers are correct, the August 24 primary is now basically a toss-up. To what does McCollum owe his improved fortunes?

According to the Miami Herald, McCollum’s “nonstop attacks” on Scott’s “integrity and business record have put him in the lead for the first time.” McCollum has stepped up his attacks on Scott in recent weeks, spending money and turning his attention to the challenge after largely ignoring Scott at first. It looks like McCollum’s efforts are paying off.

But Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker told the paper the real winner in the nasty Republican primary appears to be Democrat Alex Sink.

“Sink, who has trailed in the Mason-Dixon polls since May, now leads McCollum by a 37-35 margin,” the Herald reports. “That’s not the case when it comes to Scott. She blows him away by a 40-24 percent margin.”

The Mason-Dixon survey of 400 likely voters in Florida was conducted Aug. 9-11. The margin of error is 5%.

The TPM Poll Average shows Scott leading McCollum 35.1-31.2

Late Update: At a campaign appearance today, McCollum mused about the reasons behind the new Mason Dixon poll.

“That’s the first time in a long time,” McCollum said of the lead, according to the Palm Beach Post. “And you can feel that surge and that momentum and it’s there for a reason…Because people are now beginning to reflect, they’re beginning to look at the records of the two people involved, they’re beginning to peel the onion back and say, ‘Hey, we really don’t know who Rick Scott is. He says a lot of nice things, but we really don’t know who he is. But we know Bill McCollum and we know we need leadership in this state.'”

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