The latest Florida Atlantic University poll, released exactly one week before the primary election, shows the race for the Republican nomination for governor is a dead heat between Ron DeSantis and Adam Putnam, while on the Democratic side Gwen Graham has a comfortable lead over her four opponents.

In the GOP contest, the poll shows DeSantis holding a slim 1-point lead in the race. He won the support of 32 percent of those surveyed, compared to 31 percent for Putnam. There are still 22 percent of the voters undecided.

“Adam Putnam appears to have regained some of his footing in the gubernatorial race,” said Kevin Wagner, professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow of the Initiative. “The difference may be which candidate is better able to turnout their supporters in the next week.”

On the Democratic side, the FAU poll shows Graham has opened up a 12-point lead on Philip Levine.  Graham  leads Levine, 29 to 17 percent, after leading him by only four points in July. Jeff Greene and Andrew Gillum are tied for third at 11 percent each, followed by Chris King at 10 percent, with 19 percent undecided.

“One factor driving Graham’s lead is her support among females,” said Monica Escaleras, director of the BEPI. “As the only female candidate, she leads the field with 32 percent of the female vote. Males also support her, but to a lesser degree at 25 percent.”

The margin of error for likely voters in the Democratic primary is +/- 6.3 percentage points. While the Republican margin of error is +/- 6.5 percent.

In the U.S. Senate race, the FAU survey shows Gov. Rick Scott increasing his lead to six points over incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, 45 percent to 39 percent, with 16 percent still undecided. A month ago the poll showed Scott holding a 44 percent to 40 percent lead.  

The survey, which polled 800 Florida registered voters Aug. 16-20, was conducted using an online sample.