A new Qunnipiac University poll out this morning shows the Florida governor's race almost too close to call, with Rick Scott barely leading Charlie Crist 44-42 percent, and Libertarian Party candidate Adrian Wyllie in third place with 8 percent of the vote.
Although statistically a tie, the Q poll is in line with many others that have come out in the last month that consistently have shown Florida's current GOP governor to be maintaining a slight lead over Crist, running as a Democrat for the first time in his professional career.
The poll also indicates what has been obvious for quite some time — the public is pretty down on both of the top two candidates. For example nearly half of all of those surveyed believe neither candidate is honest or trustworthy — 49 percent say that about Crist, and 51 percent say that about Scott.
A majority of voters also simply don't like the two men, with Crist's favorability ratings at 41 percent positive vs. 49 percent negative, and Scott at 42 percent positive and 48 percent negative.
86 percent say they don't know enough about Adrian Wyllie to have much of an opinion up about him.
81 percent of voters say they've already made up their minds, while just 17 percent say they are undecided. So, I guess you should think of those 17 percent as you continue to watch the unrelenting negative television ads that will dominate the airwaves over the course of the next six weeks...
In other news…
Jeff Brandes and Judithanne McLauchlan are lobbing some harsh charges at each other, and why not? The SD 22 seat is a rarity, a competitive state Senate race in Florida, in this case representing some Pinellas beaches and a slice of South Tampa. An RPOF TV ad that began broadcasting yesterday alleges that McLauchlan endorses a state income tax — though when you listen to the ad it actually says she supports a group that endorses a state income tax (that being the League of Women Voters). She says she has never professed such support herself.
One of the things that folks in the transportation world often discuss is the whole first mile/last mile concept— the part of a trip that takes a commuter from home to a bus stop or transit station, and vice versa. This week a Los Angeles entrepreneur is touting his proposed system to HART officials.
And yesterday was Voter Registration Day. A report issued by the state's Supervisors of Election calls for allowing eligible voters to register online, as is the case in 20 other states. But somewhat lamely it's advising that this not happen until after the 2016 election.