A poll released Thursday shows Democrat Charlie Crist continues to hold a comfortable lead over Republican incumbent Rick Scott in the battle for the governor's office. Crist, who is trying to make a comeback after an earlier stint as the Republican governor, leads Scott by 46% to 38%, according to the Quinnipiac University poll.
Quinnipiac's Peter Brown said the best number in this poll for Crist - and the biggest problem for Scott - is that a majority of voters say the current governor doesn't deserve a second term. Even on economic leadership - Scott's signature issue - Crist fared better in the poll.Quinnipiac found that 47% of voters thought Crist would do a better job handling the economy and jobs, while 42% thought Scott would.
The day before the poll came out, Scott had used his budget proposal to criticize Crist.
"Because of our work to cut taxes and eliminate waste, this budget also reserves funds and pays back money the previous administration raided from the budget stabilization fund", said Scott.
Scott, Crist, and another Democratic candidate, Nan Rich, gave a preview of their attacks during separate appearances Wednesday before a group of reporters and editors at the Capitol. Scott touted tax cuts during his tenure and pointed to tax increases during Crist's time as governor. Crist questioned Scott's ethics. And Rich, a former Senate minority leader, said both men had already botched the job of governor.
“Rick Scott and Charlie Crist have had their chance to lead", Rich said, "I believe they have failed."
The Quinnipiac poll showed Rich trailing Scott by 41% to 37% in a head-to-head matchup – despite the fact that 86% of voters said they hadn't heard enough about Rich to have an opinion of her.