Bill McCollum, Florida’s attorney general and one-time frontrunner in the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary, is out with a new internal polling memo trumpeting the fact that he’s down only six points against challenger Rick Scott. The poll, conducted by McLaughlin & Associates on July 22, shows Scott pulling ahead of McCollum, 37%-31%. The memo reports that, three weeks ago, the two candidates were neck-and-neck at 35%.
A PPP poll last week showed Scott up 14 points heading into the August 24 primary.
The McCollum camp’s spin on its internal poll? Writes pollster Jon McClaughlin:
Although Rick Scott has outspent McCollum supporters by a margin of at least four to one — over $10 million to $2.5 million over the past three weeks — and the McCollum campaign is currently not on the air, saving resources for the final four week, Rick Scott’s lead on the ballot remains slight and Bill McCollum’s campaign is now in position to get back on the air and win this election.
The Florida Republican gubernatorial primary has been particularly heated this election season, and both McCollum and Scott are seeing their favorable ratings plummet.
The TPM Poll Average for the primary shows Scott ahead of McCollum 39.8%-33.2%.
Late Update: The Palm Beach Post reports that the McCollum camp is set to release another poll, this one sponsored by the Florida Medical Association. The new poll, conducted July 25-26 by McLaughlin, shows Scott leading McCollum 37%-33%, and has a margin of error of ±4.0 percentage points.
(h/t Politico)
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