The latest poll in Florida’s governor’s race shows Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis and former Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Graham the clear frontrunners in the race for their parties’ gubernatorial nomination.
The poll released Friday by Mason-Dixon Polling shows DeSantis holding a 12-point lead, receiving 41 percent of likely Republican voters, compared to 29 percent for Putnam. DeSantis has appeared to be building momentum since picking up the endorsement of President Donald Trump earlier this summer. Prior to Trump’s endorsement, polls had shown Putnam holding a double-digit lead in the race.
The poll shows that more Republican voters now hold a more favorable view of DeSantis, 44 percent, than Putnam with 37 percent.
On the Democratic side, the Mason-Dixon poll shows Graham holding a 9-point lead over rival former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine. Graham received the support of 27 percent of likely voters, while Levine received 18 percent. Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene, who entered the race late and has pledged to self-fund his campaign, is in third with 12 percent. Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum came in fourth with 10 percent and Orlando-area businessman Chris King following in fifth place with 7 percent.
The turnaround in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination has Putnam enlisting the help of one of the state’s popular Republican leaders, Attorney General Pam Bondi–a Trump supporter. Putnam’s campaign released a television ad (see below) on Thursday featuring Bondi.
“I fought hard to elect President Trump and I’m supporting Adam Putnam for Governor,” Attorney General Bondi says in the 30-second campaign ad which will appear on cable and broadcast beginning Saturday. “Adam will stand with President Trump to get tough on illegal immigration, ban sanctuary cities and deport criminal illegal aliens.”
The Mason-Dixon poll is the second survey released this week showing DeSantis leading the race for the GOP nomination.. A poll released Wednesday by Florida Atlantic University showed DeSantis holding onto a 9-point lead over Putnam. DeSantis received the support of 36 percent of those surveyed compared to 27 percent for Putnam with 23 percent remaining undecided.
On the Democratic side of the race, the FAU poll showed Graham holds a slim 4-point advantage. Graham received the support of 20 percent of those polled, followed by Levine at 16 percent.
DeSantis’ campaign is expected to build on its momentum when President Trump is scheduled to appear at a rally in Tampa on Tuesday with DeSantis.
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