What to Know
- The Quinnipiac University was conducted from
- The midterm elections will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has taken the lead in the Florida Senate electoral race ahead of Republican Gov. Rick Scott, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.
The poll shows that Nelson has 53 percent of support among likely Florida voters compared to Scott's 46 percent of support.
Nelson has 58 percent of support from women, compared to Scott's 41 percent, while 51 percent of men support Scott as opposed to Nelson's 47 percent, according to the poll.
Scott has 53 percent of support from white voters, compared to Nelson's 45 percent. Nelson has the support of 90 percent of black voters, while Scott has 10 percent of their support.
Among those polled, 94 percent who named a candidate said their mind is made up.
"Sen. Nelson is ahead 53 - 46 percent by doing a tad better than Gov. Scott with their respective bases and holding a 16-point lead among the key independent voting bloc," Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a statement. "Nelson also leads among women and is breaking even among men – the traditional path to a Democratic victory. "
Along party lines, Republicans support Scott 89 percent to Nelson's 10 percent, and Democrats support Nelson 94 percent to Scott's 5 percent. Independent voters support Nelson 56 percent to Scott's 40 percent.
Among Florida likely voters, 56 percent said they would like Congress to be "more of a check on President Trump," while 30 percent think, "Congress is doing enough to be a check on President Trump," according to Quinnipiac University.
"Health care is the most important issue to their vote for U.S. Senator, 26 percent of Florida likely voters say, as 19 percent cite the economy, followed by 18 percent for immigration, 15 percent for the Supreme Court and 12 percent who list gun policy," Quinnipiac University said.
The contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation process of judge Brett Kavanaugh shows wide gender and racial gaps for Florida likely voters. Overall, 48 percent said Kavanaugh should not be confirmed while 47 percent said he should be confirmed.
"Women say no to confirmation 54 - 41 percent, while men say yes 55 - 40 percent," Quinnipiac University said. "White voters say yes to confirmation 56 - 40 percent. Saying no are black voters 82 - 10 percent and Hispanic voters 55 - 42 percent."
The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, surveyed 888 Florida likely voters from Thursday to Monday.
Nelson was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000 and is Florida's only statewide elected Democrat. Scott was first elected amid the Tea Party movement in 2010 but has flipped on some of his hardline positions, including immigration.
Term limits prohibit Scott from seeking a third term as the governor of Florida.
Quinnipiac University's previous poll on the race released early September showed Nelson and Scott were locked at 49 percent of support among likely voters.
