FAU Poll Finds Scott Maintains Lead on Nelson in Florida U.S. Senate Race as DeSantis and Graham Hold Edge for Governor

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Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative

Jul 26, 2018, 05:00 ET

BOCA RATON, Fla., July 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Gov. Rick Scott has maintained a slight lead over U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in the U.S. Senate race, 44 to 40 percent, with 17 percent still undecided, according to the statewide survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).

Nelson has a 37 percent approval rating and 32 percent disapproval, while Scott has a 50 percent approval rating and 32 percent disapproval.

There was considerable movement among the leading candidates in both the Republican and Democratic primaries for governor of Florida. In the Republican race, Ron DeSantis has opened up a lead on Adam Putnam, 36 to 27 percent, after being up by only one point in May's BEPI poll.

Among the Democratic candidates, Gwen Graham leads Philip Levine, 20 to 16 percent, after trailing him by one point in May. Meanwhile, Jeff Greene has jumped into the race with 14 percent support, followed by Christopher King at 9 percent and Andrew Gillum at 7 percent. Overall, 23 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats said they are undecided.

U.S. President Donald Trump had a small drop in his approval rating, which is at 41 percent, down two points from May. Trump's disapproval rating is at 47 percent.

The top issues for voters in the survey remains immigration (29 percent) and healthcare (26 percent), followed by the economy (13 percent) and gun control policy (10 percent).

A vast majority of Floridians expressed concern about the toxic algae blooms that have plagued the state's coasts, with 53 percent saying they are very concerned and 33 percent saying they are somewhat concerned. More than 6 in 10 said they are concerned Russia may try to interfere in the 2018 elections, with 39 percent saying they are very concerned and 24 percent saying they are somewhat concerned.

Party breakdown among the survey respondents was 35 percent registered Democrats, 33 percent registered Republicans and 32 percent registered Independents.

The survey, which polled 800 Florida registered voters July 20-21, has a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points. The margin of error for the Democratic Primary is +/- 5.9 percentage points and for the Republican Primary is +/- 6.0 percentage points.

SOURCE Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative