Crist camp releases favorable poll

Just read Chris Cillizza’s “The Fix” blog where he reveals that the Charlie Crist campaign has released an internal poll conducted by Keith Frederick of Frederick Polls showing him one point in front of Marco Rubio in their quest to be the next U.S. Senator from Florida. The poll showed Crist garnering 35% of the vote; Rubio with 34%; and Congressman Kendrick Meek coming in with 17%. In other words, a virtual tie between Crist and Rubio.

The poll revealed interesting tendencies among the voters:

— Crist with 37% and Meek also with 37% split the Democratic vote;

–Rubio dominates the Republican vote with a hefty 66%, but Crist grabs 21% of the Republican vote;

— Independent and No Party voters go with Crist by a 55% to 24% for Rubio.

— As for popularity in the race, interestingly, Crist was, by far, the most popular of the three men running for the senate seat. Crist had a 60% positive perception and a 34% negative; Rubio came in with 45% positive and 30% negative (but, had NO popularity outside the republican ranks); and Meek rated 38% positive and 30% negative.

As we near election day, this race should continue to be close. It will also probably be the most watched senatorial race in the country.

Who will win this? Your guess is as good as mine.

But I think the reason for Crist releasing the poll are the positives look good in his direction. He polls one point ahead; he is the most popular; and at this time it appears that Meek is NOT running away with the Democratic vote. Finally, and most importantly, among independent voters Crist runs away with it.

We’ll keep watching and reporting…

Alvaro F. Fernandez