Charlie Crist has pulled ahead of Gov. Rick Scott by 3 points in the Sunshine State’s race for governor, thanks to a jump in support from independents, a new poll shows.
Results of an independent Quinnipiac University survey, released Thursday, show Crist, a Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat, with 43 percent support of likely voters, compared with 40 percent for Scott, a Republican. Libertarian candidate Adrian Wyllie has 8 percent, with 9 percent undecided.
Still, the race is too close to call, as the Quinnipiac survey’s margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.4 percentage points.
The new numbers compare to results of an Oct. 22 Quinnipiac survey that showed Scott and Crist tied at 42 percent, with Wyllie at 7 percent.
With Wyllie out of the race, the new poll shows Crist getting 45 percent of the vote and Scott 42 percent.
Among those who already have voted, Crist gets 40 percent to Scott’s 39 percent.
But among independent voters, Crist, a former Florida governor, drew 47 percent support, compared with Scott’s 29 percent and Wyllie’s 16 percent.
“Independent voters are often the difference in swing states like Florida, but the size of former Gov. Charlie Crist’s lead among them is truly remarkable,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
Crist was a longtime Republican Florida state lawmaker and cabinet member before voters sent him to the governor’s mansion in 2006. But after trailing Tea Party-backed Marco Rubio for the Republican Senate nomination in 2010, Crist became an independent, allowing him to bypass the primaries and land on the general election ballot. The move didn’t work, as Rubio easily won. Crist then joined the Democratic Party late in 2012.
“It may turn out that Crist’s change from Republican to independent to Democrat branded him as the kind of less political politician with the most important voter group,” Brown said. “If Crist can win independents by 20 points on Election Day, he will be difficult to beat.”
Scott, who had historically low voter approval rating during his first two years in office, has been running neck-and-neck with Crist in independent polls for several months.
The former head of the Columbia/HCA hospital chain also can boost his campaign coffers with a personal fortunate estimated to be more than $130 million.
