In our latest poll of Florida's competitive race for governor, Attorney General Charlie Crist remains the strongest Republican candidate, Congressman Jim Davis the strongest Democratic candidate. Crist is also strongest overall.

Crist leads Davis 44% to 39%. But Davis has improved since last month, when Crist led 44% to 33%.

Crist's competitor for the GOP nomination, State Treasurer/CFO Tom Gallagher, now trails Davis by five percentage points, 43% to 38%. In April, Gallagher and Davis were neck-and-neck—a big drop since February, when Gallagher led Davis 44% to 34%. Gallagher was probably hurt by accusations of insider trading publicized in late February.

Crist leads State Senator Rod Smith 45% to 34%. Gallagher also handily leads Smith, 44% to 33%.

Crist is viewed favorably by 60% of all voters, unfavorably by 24%. Gallagher is viewed favorably by 55%, Davis by 49%, Smith by 42%. Neither Democrat has very high negatives, but between a quarter and a third of all voters have yet to form an opinion of them.

Florida's primaries will be decided September 5.

The race is hardly set in stone. Though Crist is well-known and associated with a popular governor, his edge is narrow. And most voters currently trust the Democrats more than the Republicans on most of the high-profile issues we asked respondents about.

Crosstabs are available for Premium Members.

Another wild card is the Senate contest. Although Katherine Harris will likely win the Republican nomination, she is being clobbered in match-ups with her expected Democratic opponent. Some Republicans think her unpopularity could be a drag on other GOP tickets.

On the economy, national security, energy policy, and Iraq, most Florida voters trust Democrats over Republicans; on energy policy, they do so by a two-to-one margin. The exception is immigration, where 43% trust the Republicans more, 38% trust the Democrats more.

Nationally, Americans haven't steadily favored either party on the immigration issue.

The rolling average of our last three polls shows Crist leading Davis 43% to 36%. Over those same three polls, Gallagher leads Davis 40% to 38%. Davis has gained ground relative to Gallagher in each of the last two polls.

Crosstabs are available for Premium Members.