Florida Gov. Rick Scott leads Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in a possible 2018 Senate matchup, according to a recent poll.
Scott, a Republican, now has a double-digit lead ahead of the three-term senator, 41.8 percent to 31.6 percent, results released Friday from a Saint Leo University survey show. About 8 percent of respondents said someone else and 18.4 percent said they were undecided.
“Rick Scott has enjoyed consistently strong approval ratings during 2017, and he certainly received a small bump for the way he handled a difficult hurricane season for the state of Florida,” said Frank Orlando, director of the polling institute, in a statement. “As the state’s economy continues to grow, his overall approval comes as no surprise.”
Orlando pointed to Scott’s handling of the situation surrounding Hurricane Irma, which hit Florida in September, as helping boost his image.
Scott had been gaining on Nelson in the polls for months.
In late October, Nelson was leading Scott by just one point, 37 to 36 percent.
The Saint Leo University poll surveyed 500 respondents across Florida from Nov. 19 to 24 and has a 4.5 percent margin of error.
