TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – Expected to win his party’s nomination Tuesday, former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who is now running as a Democrat, will be trailing current GOP Gov. Rick Scott heading into the general election, a new poll suggests.
A Saturday SurveyUSA poll shows that if the general election were held today, voters would select Scott over Crist by a 44-41 percent margin.
Throughout the past year, Crist has steadily lost ground to Scott.
According to an early June Public Policy Polling survey, the candidates were tied at 42 percent apiece.
A series of older Quinnipiac polls showed Crist leading Scott 48-38 percent in April, 46-38 percent in January and 47-40 percent in a November.
The SurveyUSA poll states that two weeks ago, Scott led by two points, and that Crist is suffering from an apparent weakening of his support in Southeast Florida.
Crist will face fellow Democrat Nan Rich in Tuesday’s primary.
Funding for the two Democrats has been incredibly lopsided so far in the 2014 election cycle, with Crist hauling in more than $23 million in contributions, while Rich, individually, has raked in around $60,000, according to campaign finance reports.
Individually, Crist has raised more than $8.8 million, while his PAC, Charlie Crist for Florida, totals $14.6 million, according to campaign finance reports.
As previously reported, lawyers and law firms have been a staple in Crist’s funding.
In the past two weeks alone, Crist, a former attorney general, has received large contributions from the following lawyers and law firms:
-On Aug. 20, the Miami law firm Ver Ploeg & Limpkin donated $25,000;
-On Aug. 20 Coral Gables attorney Ralph Patino donated $12,500; and
-On Aug. 15 the West Palm Beach law firm Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart & Shipley donated a total of $150,000.
Also noteworthy, on July 31 the Mostyn Law Firm donated $100,000, bringing the Houston-based firm’s total to $700,000.
The firm's founder, Steve Mostyn, is one of the most generous Democratic donors in the state of Texas.
Reach David Yates at elections@legalnewsline.com
Fla. gov. race: Crist continuing to lose ground to Scott
