For senate, Rick Scott leads Democratic challenger by wide margin in FAU-Mainstreet poll

Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·2 min read
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A poll issued Thursday has good news for U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who has a history of razor-thin election wins in Florida. The survey has the incumbent Republican with a double-digit lead over the better-known of his potential Democratic rivals.

The survey by Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research has Scott leading former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by 52% to 36%. Mucarsel-Powell, who represented a Miami-area district, is one of a host of Democrats seeking the nomination in August.

"That's a bigger margin than we've seen in other polls," said Kevin Wagner, FAU pollster and political scientist. "What it illustrates is that the state has become considerably more Republican, especially in the votes and the choices voters make, and the strength of the Republican brand is pretty apparent in support of Rick Scott."

Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell speaks to about 30 Hispanic leaders and voters at El Sabor Latino in Greenacres. A poll has her trailing U.S. Sen. Rick Scott by a broad margin.
Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell speaks to about 30 Hispanic leaders and voters at El Sabor Latino in Greenacres. A poll has her trailing U.S. Sen. Rick Scott by a broad margin.

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Moreover, some 67% of those polled listed pocketbook issues, the economy, the cost of living, home insurance and immigration as their high priority issues. Abortion, the environment and foreign policy totaled just 23%.

Scott's margin is built on broad leads among all age groups as well as male and female voters. He also leads among Hispanics, college and non-college educated white voters and trails Mucarsel-Powell among Black voters by 41% to 32.9%.

Wagner said the two areas where Murcarsel-Powell "has to do better" is with the gender gap and voters under the age of 50.

"The campaign really hasn't started, and so for many voters, this race doesn't have their attention, so these numbers are going to be very volatile," Wagner said.

The poll of 815 Flroida residents, conducted April 15-17 has a 3.3-percentage-point margin of error.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rick Scott leads Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in FAU-Mainstreet poll