Rick Scott Leads Charlie Crist in Florida Gubernatorial Poll

Despite claims that he switched to the Democratic Party as a result of "GOP racism," Charlie Crist has been unable to secure strong minority support and as a result has lost the lead in his bid to reclaim the Florida Governors mansion against incumbent Governor Republican Rick Scott. In the latest CBS/New York Time/YouGov poll, Scott now leads Crist by five points in a race analysts suggest may be getting away from Crist.

Charlie Crist led the race by as many as 15 points in polls taken early this year, but has been unable to muster strong support from minority voters, a group he has courted with much zeal. In May of this year he made his now-infamous comments that he left the Republican Party due elements of racism within the group. These comments were met with skepticism, given that his GOP political career was destroyed when as the better known and funded favorite, he was routed by a (then) virtually unknown Latino Republican lawmaker by the name of Marco Rubio, now Senator and potential 2016 candidate.

While Rick Scott has generally scored negative popularity ratings by Floridians during his tenor in the Governors office, Charlie Crist has been unable to capitalize on this, he himself having a problem convincing voters that he is genuine, as many consider his previous comments about his party switch a mixture or opportunism and sour grapes. While his "stand against racism" has resonated with younger voters in the state, many Hispanics, particularly in the GOP-leaning Cuban-American population, remain skeptical worry that Crist the Democrat would be an even worse state executive that Crist the Republican was.

In the recent polling, Scott secures solid or leaning support of 48 percent of Floridians, against 43 percent support for Crist. More troubling for the former Governor and "new" Democrat, his strongest support comes from younger voters, who vote at lower and less consistent rates than older voters. Among those 65 years and over, Governor Rick Scott enjoys overwhelming support of the voters, as 55 percent support the incumbent solidly, with another three percent leaning in his favor. In contrast, Crist garners only 35 percent overall with a constituency that is particularly key in a state known as a retirement destination.

The poll also shows that Charlie Crist's racial strategy may be falling flat as well. In a state that Barack Obama took by a slim margin in the 2012 Presidential elections, Crist was hoping to capitalize on the coalition Democrats had put together in 2012 and exploit recent racial divisions in the state as a result of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman situation. The minority vote was key for President Obama, who captured 95 percent of the black vote and 60 percent of Hispanics. Today Charlie Crist has solid support among only 63 percent of black voters, with another 9 percent leaning his way. This presents a 21 percent drop from the totals the President received just two years ago, indicating that the race baiting tactics of Crist and the Democrat Party may in fact be counter-productive. While the African-American vote is still solidly leaning to the Democratic Party overall, recent signs point to a shift in black politics as the failed policies of President Obama are highlighting a half century of unsuccessful liberal leadership in the inner cities and in particular the black community. As a result, voters in these neighborhood are beginning to slowly warm up to Republican candidates, as they common cause with the GOP on matters of job creation, school choice, immigration. Strong leftward turns by the Democratic Party on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage have also highlighted cultural differences between African-Americans and a party still largely influenced by the morality and worldview of predominantly white liberals in the urban conclaves of large cities on either coast.

The same can much be said for Crist's efforts to woo Florida's Hispanic voters, a slightly larger electoral bloc than black Floridians. 60 percent of Latinos in Florida voted for President Barack Obama, but in the cited poll only 48 percent of Hispanic voters in Florida today support Charlie Crist, with 42 percent opting for Scott. The 12 point erosion in support for Crist among Hispanics may be too large for him to overcome between now and election day.

In a nation being torn apart by nefarious elements seeking to profit from its racial divisions, a November loss by Charlie Crist would send clear signals that this style of gutter politics will not be tolerated by the American people. The path of fear and divisiveness would be shown to be a losing one and the people of Florida would be spared from leadership proven to play on the lesser aspects of our nature. If the latest CBS/NY Times/YouGiv 2016 Florida Gubernatorial poll showing Rick Scott with a five-point lead over Charlie Crist is any indicator, the people of the sunshine state are seeking solutions to problems, not self-serving rhetoric designed to turn us against our neighbors.

Remember, Scott only won by 52,000 votes. For a state this size, that seems slim.

Dade, Broward and Palm beach counties went a SOLID 66% for Sink (D). I live in Broward which is dws’s and hastings’ looting grounds.

Never mind attacking Gay Charlie. It just shows that we are gender-normative reactionaries. Ain't it enough we forced him to get married? To a female? (Talk about a tough job. She and Michelle should start a Beard Union.)

Instead, waddayasay we jump on the state house and get those geriatric-drug-soaked geezers to end this fraudulent "Double Dipper " voting that always throws the Democrat 40-50,000 votes from them Dade County Joisey and Nooyawk scumbags?

The situation has ceased to be amusing. A straight election 'round here might surprise everybody!

The only way I see SH!T writer Jeremy Wallace covering this is if he's spinning it to frighten and gin up the dem base.

No doubt. I just emailed him with a link to the original article and dared him to mention it in his paper. I won't hold my breath. But if Scott wins in November, and I will do all I can to make that happen, I will be writing him continuously asking how this could be when all the polls he cited showed an orange-boy victory.

The RATs don’t have a good reason to vote against Scott so they’ll stay home.

24 posted on 07/29/2014 8:17:15 PM PDT by clintonh8r (It's possible to love your country and hate your government. I'm proof of it.)

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