Florida

Andrew Gillum, Bill Nelson Hold Leads in Latest Two Polls Released Before Election Day

What to Know

  • The latest NBC News / Marist poll finds Gillum holding onto a slight lead, 50 to 46 percent, over Ron DeSantis
  • 45 percent of those surveyed say they have already cast their ballots as over 4.8 million people did so during the two week early voting.

With just one day to go until Election Day across the country, Democratic candidates in Florida’s two most high profile races continue to hold their leads according to two new polls released Monday.

The latest NBC News / Marist poll finds Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum holding onto a slight lead, 50 to 46 percent, over GOP candidate and former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis. The latest numbers, which are within the margin of error, are one percentage point down from the lead 48 to 43 percent lead Gillum had when the survey was taken in September.

In the race for U.S. Senate, incumbent Bill Nelson also has a 50 to 46 percent lead over current Florida Governor and GOP candidate Rick Scott – up one point from the 48 to 45 percent lead he held in September but still within the margin of error.

45 percent of those surveyed say they have already cast their ballots as over 4.8 million people did so during the two week early voting process either in person or by mail.

Gillum, who is seeking to become the state’s first black governor as well as the first Democrat to win the office in two decades, and Nelson both hold leads among Independents as well as minority and female voters while both DeSantis and Scott have an edge among white and male voters along with senior citizens in the state.

Both Democratic candidates hold an edge in favorability among voters (Gillum 48 percent favorable to 40 percent unfavorable with Nelson at 45 percent to 42 percent) while DeSantis and Scott each have unfavorable ratings higher among those surveyed (43 percent to 45 percent for DeSantis and 42 percent to 50 percent for Scott).

The numbers go along with President Donald Trump’s favorability in the state dropping from 46 percent to 44 percent since September’s survey. Trump has stopped several times in Florida to campaign for DeSantis – who he endorsed early in the Republican primary – and Scott while Gillum has brought in high profile Democrats for his campaign, including a stop last week by former President Barack Obama in Miami.

In a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday, both Gillum and Nelson hold seven point leads over their opponents that are each up one percent from the October 22nd poll and outside of the 3.5 percent margin of error. Gillum received 50 percent of the support among voters surveyed to 43 percent for DeSantis while Nelson had a 51 to 44 percent lead over Scott.

Nelson and Gillum held leads among Independent and Democratic voters along with minorities and women while Scott and DeSantis led among white voters and registered Republicans. Among male voters, Nelson held a one point lead while Gillum was in a statistical tie.

Of the nearly 1,150 people surveyed, only five percent had said they remained undecided heading into Election Day.

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