It's only Tuesday, but it hasn't been that great of a week for Charlie Crist, the once and possible future governor of the Sunshine State. A new poll released today, published by WFLA-TV and conducted by Survey USA, has Rick Scott up by a single percentage point over Crist, 42-41. With a margin of error of 4.3 percent, the race is essentially deadlocked, or perhaps Crist still leads.
But the momentum seems to be going against the potential Democratic gubernatorial nominee. A Florida Chamber of Commerce Political Institute poll released yesterday also showed Scott in the lead, 41-38, with Libertarian Adrian Wyllie getting four percent of the vote.
Crist's decision not to visit Cuba is not playing well among progressives on social media in the Tampa area. Democratic consultant Victor DiMaio tweeted "Extremely disappointed in Gov Crist decision that he has no time to visit Cuba with my family and visit." DiMaio is among the passengers slated to take the same trip that Crist has now canceled on, taking place July 16-20.
Republican Party of Florida spokesperson Susan Wentworth asked provocatively in an email to reporters, "Did Democratic Party leaders like President Obama, Senator Bill Nelson, and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, all of whom support the embargo, silence Charlie Crist?"
Meanwhile, Team Crist continues to hold tight against calls by some supporters to begin airing television ads, something they would prefer not to do this early in the general election campaign — especially considering that Crist is not even the nominee at this point. But $16 million worth of television ads for Scott and the RPOF vs. $0 expended by Crist (and one Florida Democratic Party ad) seems to be making a difference, and the summer has just begun.