Results from a poll recently conducted by the University of North Florida (UNF) show the state’s junior U.S. Sen. Rick Scott in a tightly-contested mathup with Democratic challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. UNF’s poll shows Scott with a two-point lead, with Scott getting 45% of the vote to Mucarsel-Powell getting 43%, a lead that falls within the margin of error.
“In April, a lot of people didn’t know who Mucarsel-Powell was. Her name recognition has improved considerably. With that, the support for her has improved,” said Kevin Wagner, an FAU political scientist.
“If that trend line holds it suggests that it could be a competitive race,” he said, adding that it is still early to make that assessment. “It’s still June, so we’ll see how that turns out.”
Dramatic election victories have been a signature of Scott’s campaign history. In his two campaigns for governor, Scott won by a margin of less than two points. Mucarsel-Powell has been out of office for four years. In 2020, she lost a congressional re-election bid against Carlos Giménez for Florida’s 26th Congressional District. Gimenez won that race by just over 3 points, earning 51.7% of the vote to Mucarsel-Powell’s 48.3% of the vote.
