Charlie Crist said earlier this month that he’s giving “serious thought” to mounting a challenge against Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) next year. A poll released Wednesday might make the decision easier for the former Republican governor.
The latest poll from Quinnipiac University showed Crist claiming 50 percent to Scott’s 34 percent in a hypothetical matchup of the state’s 2014 gubernatorial race. A poll released Tuesday from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling also showed Crist, who served as governor of the state from 2007 until 2011 as a Republican, with a wide lead over the unpopular Scott.
After losing as an independent in Florida’s 2010 U.S. Senate race, Crist campaigned on behalf of President Barack Obama in 2012 and officially became a Democrat last year. The Quinnipiac poll found half of Florida voters believe that Crist’s party switch is a “positive thing that shows he is a pragmatist.” Forty percent called it a “negative thing because it shows he has no core beliefs.”
Like PPP’s survey, the Quinnipiac poll found Scott in an exceedingly vulnerable position as he approaches a re-election year. A plurality of 46 percent said they have an unfavorable opinion of the first term Republican, while 49 percent said they disapprove of the job Scott is doing as governor. In contrast, Quinnipiac showed 49 percent of Florida voters have a favorable opinion of Crist.
The PollTracker Average charts below provide an early glance at next year’s governor’s race, as well as the anemic approval ratings that have typified Scott’s first term in office.
