Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has a slim lead over Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott – that’s if the two were to go head-to-head in a 2018 U.S. Senate matchup.
A new poll from the University of North Florida suggests that Nelson has a six-point lead over Scott in a hypothetical Senate contest, according to Politico.
“Even though it’s very early in the 2018 election season, Nelson’s six-point lead is meaningful,” said Michael Binder, the faculty director of UNFs Public Opinion Research Laboratory, Politico noted. “This race is going to get national attention and Rick Scott’s alliance with Donald Trump will likely factor into this election’s outcome next year.”
Scott has yet to confirm his bid for the Senate race, Sunshine State News noted.
Although Scott is trailing Nelson in UNFs poll, his approval rating is better.
According to the poll, Scott’s approval rating is at 46 percent while Nelson’s approval rate is sitting at 42 percent.
Scott, who has a public relationship with Trump, is considered one of the most influential Republicans in Florida.
Like Trump, Scott started out as a businessman and then leveraged that success to begin a career in politics, Sunshine State News noted.
He’s beat well-known Florida politicians to become the state’s governor twice, and was recently named the next vice chair of the Republican Governors Association.
As for Nelson, he’s remained somewhat silent about the 2018 race, despite still being ahead based on the new poll.
UNFs poll consists of 973 Florida voters.
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