FAU Poll Finds DeSantis and Putnam in Dead Heat as Graham Opens Double-Digit Lead on Levine in Florida Governor Race

BOCA RATON, Fla., Aug. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- One week before the primary election to determine who will be the Democratic and Republican candidates for Florida's next governor, Ron DeSantis and Adam Putnam are in a statistical tie on the Republican side and Gwen Graham has opened up a 12-point lead on Philip Levine among the Democrats, according to the statewide survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).

On the Republican side of the race for governor, DeSantis has seen his lead drop from nine points less than one month ago to only one point over Putnam, 32 to 31 percent, with 22 percent undecided.

Among the Democratic candidates, Graham now leads Levine, 29 to 17 percent, after leading him by only four points in July. Jeff Greene and Andrew Gillum are tied for third at 11 percent each, followed by Christopher King at 10 percent, with 19 percent undecided.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has increased his lead to six points over U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in the U.S. Senate race, 45 to 39 percent, with 16 percent still undecided.

U.S. President Donald Trump had a two-point increase in his approval rating, which is at 43 percent, tied for his highest approval rating among Florida voters since taking office. Trump's disapproval rating is at 45 percent.

A majority of voters (56 percent) said they were very concerned about the physical safety of students at schools and 60 percent think gun laws should be stricter. Gun control policy, however, ranked fourth among the most important issues to voters in the upcoming primary election. Top issues for voters in the survey remain immigration (27 percent) and healthcare (25 percent), followed by the economy (14 percent) and gun control policy (12 percent).

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

The survey was conducted Aug. 16-20 and polled 800 Florida registered voters who said they are likely to vote, with a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points. The margin of error for likely voters in the Republican primary is +/- 6.5 percentage points and in the Democratic primary is +/- 6.3 percentage points.

- FAU -

SOURCE FAU Business and Economics Polling Initiative

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https://business.fau.edu/