The Florida Chamber of Commerce released a poll of likely voters on Wednesday, showing Republican candidates in good position to win state Cabinet races.
Running for a second term, state Attorney General Ashley Moody takes 51 percent of those surveyed. Former State Attorney Aramis Ayala, who win the Democratic primary, gets 36 percent.
State CFO Jimmy Patronis, a Panhandle Republican running for a second full term, gets 47 percent in the poll. Former state Rep. Adam Hattersley, a Democrat from the Tampa Bay area, gets 37 percent.
With state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only Democrat currently holding statewide office in Florida, about to leave office, the poll shows Republicans in good shape to flip that position. State Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Tribly, takes 48 percent of those surveyed, while accountant Naomi Esther Blemur, who won the Democratic primary in August, gets 37 percent.
The University of North Florida (UNF) released a poll earlier this week showing Moody with a strong lead over Ayala. The UNF poll had Simpson with a smaller lead over Blemur. UNF did not poll the race between Patronis and Hattersley.
The poll of 601 likely voters in Florida was taken from Oct. 13 through Oct. 20 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
