Florida Governor: Scott (R) Builds Small Lead Over Sink (D)

Republican Rick Scott now leads Democrat Alex Sink by six points in the race to be Florida’s next governor. It’s the widest gap between the candidates in six months of polling.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Florida shows Scott with 50% support for the second survey in a row. Sink, the state’s elected chief financial officer, earns 44% of the vote. Six percent (6%) prefer some other candidate in the race. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

This moves the race from a Toss-Up to Leans Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard.

Less than two weeks ago, Scott, a wealthy businessman and former health care executive, held a 50% to 47% lead. This race has been close for weeks since Scott’s upset win over Bill McCollum in the state GOP Primary in August. In six surveys since then, Scott has picked up 41% to 50% support, while Sink has captured 36% to 47%. The candidates were in a near tie at the beginning of September.

Scott and Sink are scheduled to hold their second debate tonight.

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The survey of 750 Likely Voters in Florida was conducted on October 18, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/-4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Additional data from this survey can be found at www.rasmussenreports.com/Florida. 

Republican Marco Rubio remains the front-runner in Florida's three-way U.S. Senate race. 

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