Upstart Rick Scott has surged ahead of Bill McCollum in the race for the Florida Republican Party gubernatorial nomination, according to a poll released on Thursday by Public Policy Polling (PPP). Scott leads McCollum by a whopping 14 percentage points, 43:29.
Since entering the race in April, Scott has dominated the primary launching a series of attack television ads against McCollum, pushing down his favorability ratings.
Currently, 40 percent of Republican voters have an unfavorable opinion of McCollum, double what is was back in March earlier this year. Scott fairs a bit better with a high 32 percent having an unfavorable view of him.
The same poll revealed that before Scott entered the race, McCollum was leading the Democratic nominee, Alex Sink. Now, both Republican candidates are trailing Sink.
If Scott is the Republican nominee, Sink leads by 36:30 percent. If McCollum is the nominee, Sink leads by an even wider margin, 37:23 percentage points.
The PPP surveyed 400 Republican primary voters and 900 Florida voters from July 16-18th.
