Poll: Bill Nelson and Rick Scott in Virtual Tie for Fla. Senate Seat

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is in a virtual tie with Republican Gov. Rick Scott in a hypothetical race for the Senate, a new University of North Florida poll reveals.

Here are highlights from the Florida survey:

• 37 percent of those polled say they would vote for Nelson, 36 percent would vote for Scott, and 20 percent were undecided.
• 59 percent approved of Scott's job performance as governor, compared to 28 percent who do not.
• 35 percent approved of Nelson's job performance as senator, while 15 percent disapproved. 49 percent said they don't know he's handling his job.
• 37 percent approved of President Donald Trump's job performance, while 59 disapproved.

"Like most statewide races in Florida, the senate race between Nelson and Scott is going to be too close to call all the way until Election Day," said Michael Binder, faculty director of the Public Opinion Research Lab at UNF. "The one major concern for Democrats has to be the public's lack of awareness of Nelson. When a three-term sitting U.S. senator has almost half of the sample unable to assess his job approval, you have a problem."

Scott, who is facing term limits as governor, has not officially entered the race yet, the Palm Beach Post noted. However, he is widely expected to do so.

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