New poll numbers released by Mason-Dixon today continue to be encouraging for Democratic governor nominee Alex Sink. She holds a seven-point lead over Rick Scott. While the pollsters warn that a Sink victory is far from guaranteed, think don't look so good for Scott. Nearly half of likely-voters don't like the guy.
An astonishing 47 percent of Floridians have an unfavorable view of political novice Scott. Only 30 percent view him favorably. Meanwhile, CFO Sink has a 44 percent favorability rating, with only 23 percent view her negatively.
"Floridians don't trust a man who was forced to resign from a company that pled guilty to massive amounts of fraud, including 14 felonies," Sink spokeswoman Kyra Jennings told Naked Politics.
His shady business background combined with his strong support of controversial immigration legislation and the fact that primary rival Bill McCollum has so far refused to endorse him add up to the possibility that even if he is elected Scott could be the most divisive governor in recent history. That's a far cry from Charlie Crist's heyday when he held high approval numbers even amongst Democrats and Independents.
Speaking of Independents, Sink is highly popular with those voters which may seal her win.
What Scott does have going for him is lots and lot his own of money to spend on ads before election day. Recently he's released ads attacking Sink and another featuring his mother in an attempt to humanize the candidate.
There's also the fact that Scott is a Republican in an election cycle that seems favorable to the party. The one difference though is that Scott is running for state office, and the GOP has controlled Tallahassee unequivocally since 1998. So the desire for change and to shake things up that is sweeping national elections, may actually translate to a bonus for Sink.
The enthusiasm gap between the two parties is also reversed on the state level. 81 percent of Democrats support Sink, more than the percentage of Republicans who support Scott, and more than the percentage of Democrats who voted for the past two Democratic nominees.
