Florida Gov. Rick Scott is gaining support from Floridians for a possible run for U.S. Senate, a survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative reported.
While the Republican governor has not formally declared that he will run for the seat held now by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Scott has a 10-point lead over Nelson in a hypothetical race, the poll results said.
In other poll results:
- 52 percent gave Scott a favorable rating, up 3 points since November 2017.
- 34 percent gave Scott an unfavorable rating, down 5 points from November.
"Scott's increasing favorability rating is reflected in the double-digit lead he has opened up in our hypothetical matchup. However, with 22 percent of voters saying they're undecided, there's still plenty of opportunity for Nelson to turn things around," said Monica Escaleras, the institute's director.
Scott has not indicated when he might make a decision on whether to run, The Hill reported in January.
However, Republican strategist Rick Wilson said waiting is a good idea for Scott.
"He's got the ability to lay the hammer down very quickly and be in the fight very quickly. At this point, if you're him, you want to wait as long as you can (because) Donald Trump is really unpopular in Florida with people outside the Republican base," Wilson said in The Hill.
The poll was conducted among 750 registered voters in Florida from Feb. 1 to 4, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, the poll report said.