Despite a rash of independents and party switches in Florida, tomorrow there are still two meaningful primaries at the top of the ticket. For the Democrats, tomorrow they choose between Bill Clinton-backed Kendrick Meek, and wealthy challenger Jeff Greene for a Senate candidate. Republicans have to decide on a candidate for Governor between former Impeachment star Bill McCollum and wealthy challenger Rick Scott.
With one day to go, let’s check where the polls say both races are headed.
Except for Rasmussen Reports, who rarely dips into the primary waters, we’ve got a good mix of pollsters hitting Florida at the end, all focusing on likely voters. PPP’s poll ended on the 22nd, Mason Dixon’s on the 19th, and Quinnipiac’s on the 16th. That’s as far back as I’ll go for last minute polling.
For the Democrats, the race seems to have settled down. Greene made a real challenge, but Democrats seem to have consolidated around Meek, as Meek leads by 7, 12, and 24 in the last three polls. I don’t think his lead is growing exponentially, but that trend is hard to ignore.
We get no such clear trend on the Republican side [link fixed], though. This race has been hit by late-breaking news of a lawsuit against Scott, and McCollum has milked the story. As a result, he got a serious jump, this month taking his first polling lead since May.
But it appears Scott isn’t finished yet, as those last three polls are mixed: McCollum +9, McCollum +9, and finally PPP shows up with Scott +7. As erratic as primary polling has been this year, I’m not prepared to draw conclusions from this, except that the Republican side is close. So Republicans had best get out and vote in Florida tomorrow, because one vote just might matter.
Aaron Gardner
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
KnightsofMalta
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
A Meek Bump
jsanzone (Diary) Monday, August 23rd at 1:17PM EST (link)after his primary victory could throw the Senate race all out of whack. Does Rubio stand to gain? Probably. But he absolutely cannot take any aspect of this race for granted. It starts tomorrow.
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doing a happy dance
yuletide Tuesday, August 24th at 1:19PM EST (link)Rubio is doing a happy dance.since Meek is going to win. Meek will get between 15% to 25% of the vote. I just don’t see African-Americans voting for a white guy over an African-American. Every vote for Meek is a vote taken from Crist. Also because Meek win, the DNC can’t support Crist. It will be interesting to see if Meek goes after Crist. Rubio should win easily if he appears to be a Jeb Bush clone.
A Message To Florida Black Voters From Charle Crist
finaljeopardy Monday, August 23rd at 1:29PM EST (link)“Please stay home during this primary election, too. My campaign thinks I’ve got a better chance at winning, if a black candidate isn’t pulling votes to the Democratic party and away from my Independent bid against Marco Rubio. Your Democratic party thinks Kendrick Meek will lose. They’ve been saying it anonymously to the press, and President Obama has been conspicuously absent except for a DNC fundraiser where the black Democrat gets to speak. Jeff Greene should be the nominee, because he will lose, too, but he will do so with his own money. All I care about is winning, so go Jeff Greene. Thank you, and God bless America.”
Ugh..
Zaber Monday, August 23rd at 1:46PM EST (link)I’m currently in the Tampa area on business, and I tuned into a few hours of news on the Fox affiliate this morning.. easily 20 minutes of every hour filled with attack ads, especially between Scott and McCollum. I dont recall seeing any NON political ads all morning.
I love what politics has become. *sigh*
“How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.” — Ronald Reagan
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” — Sir Winston Churchill
McCollum ads gone national
chihank Monday, August 23rd at 3:06PM EST (link)Here in Chicago, I am getting Bill McCollum ads.
Bill McCollum ran ads on CNN Headline news. Also McCollum are airing on the radio shows of Hugh Hewitt and Michael Medhev. I think the McCollum forgot to only pay for ads affecting the local FL market. The McCollum campiagn is overpaying for ads with money that could be used against Alexa Sink.
McCollum
ktsub (Diary) Monday, August 23rd at 11:21PM EST (link)The campaign is not “overpaying for ads”, the “local” airtime is sold out, so many times in certain markets, the campaign purchases open “national” airtime to get the message out.
Actually its smart…regarding Alex Sink, her closet has not been exposed yet. For all the negative, late primary in Florida, its a tight race, that is how the game rolls in Florida.
I hope Bill McCollum ends up elected to something
cactusjack Monday, August 23rd at 11:32PM EST (link)safely ensconced behind state troopers in a government building with metal detectors and circling black government Suburbans. No joke. As is public knowledge from his committee assignments while serving in the House, he has extremely…extremely….high government security clearances & is kind of like an ex-President walking around in that respect.
I voted early to avoid prolonging the agony
RedBeard Monday, August 23rd at 2:04PM EST (link)Sickening, really, to have to vote against someone in the R governor’s primary, and to have to look forward to doing the same thing in November.
Grit teeth, hold nose, vote to keep the Dem out of the governor’s mansion.
But when do I get to vote FOR people?
Well, at least I have Marco.
Standard-bearer for grouchy curmudgeonry since, oh, 1975 or so.
What a mess
mboyle1988 (Diary) Monday, August 23rd at 2:44PM EST (link)I voted early for Rick Scott because I am living out of state for a summer internship. Then I found out all the stuff about his company. It’s pretty sick.
McCollum is actually a good conservative. He’s just a bad public speaker and campaigner. I’m not sure either of them can beat Alex Sink, which, as a statement, I would have found silly just a month ago.
yeah
bannor Monday, August 23rd at 4:32PM EST (link)things like that is why i don’t like early voting.
55555
ywhyvon1 Tuesday, August 24th at 5:57PM EST (link)I never vote early because there is too much that can happen a week or so before election day.
Socialist with fork looking for Socialist with pork pie-unknown
check your info
gjohnson (Diary) Monday, August 23rd at 6:05PM EST (link)You have apparently been out of town because you are not aware of the fact that McCollum has everything to do with this lawsuit. You need to stay on top of things and vote the right person in and that is Scott. McCollum is just as bad as having a democrat. He’ll be just like Scott Brown in MA. Mark my words. It’s better than a guarantee.
I don't get it,
EMT907 Tuesday, August 24th at 10:21AM EST (link)I don’t follow local politics that much. What did you mean by “former Impeachment star Bill McCollum”?
I also voted absentee, even though I haven’t gone anywhere. It’s just more convenient. I knew about Scott and Columbia/HCA, but somehow I just can’t get all that upset over it. The feds got who they could/wanted, so I’m not worried about it.
What’s more, Scott has been talking about issues since day one. As far as I’ve seen, McCollum has only attacked Scott. Haven’t seen anything from him on issues until today.
Neither "Frontrunning"
gfwarhol Tuesday, August 24th at 5:45PM EST (link)Republican candidate for Governor is worth a darn in my book, and couldn’t bring myself to vote for either. I voted for unknown, and unfunded McCallister!
In the general, I will hold my nose and vote. I am getting sick of having to do that!