If the title of this post is incorrect, I'm sure I'll hear about it from the Sink campaign, but the new results of a Public Policy Polling survey has Democrat Alex Sink leading both Republican candidates in the race for governor, Rick Scott and Bill McCollum.
The poll shows Sink up over Scott 36-30%, and up higher over McCollum, 37-23%. In both cases, independent Bud Chiles totals 13% and 14%, not enough to turn the tides against Sink, but certainly a concern for Democrats in November.
Whether this is the first survey that has shown Sink ahead or not, it's the first that convincingly shows her winning, and in that respect a lot of Democrats have to be saying: about damn time.
The fact of the matter is – as the survey indicates – both Scott and McCollum have deep unfavorable numbers, with the current Attorney General over 50% in a negative ranking amongst all voters:
23% of voters have a favorable opinion of Scott while 41% view him unfavorably. While only 34% of Republicans view him positively, 40% of independents and 52% of Democrats see him unfavorably. McCollum's numbers are even worse. Only 16% have a favorable opinion of him with 51% holding a negative one. Just 27% of GOP voters see him favorably, while 59% of Democrats and 57% of independents have an unfavorable opinion of him.
This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2010.