Early polling data suggest Florida’s Democratic nominee for governor, Andrew Gillum, has a narrow lead against Rep. Ron DeSantis (R) in the state’s November gubernatorial race.
SurveyUSA and Quinnipiac University show Gillum, the state’s first black nominee for governor, has a competitive edge against his Republican opponent, as do two partisan polls. Last week a Quinnipiac poll showed Gillum had a 3 percentage point lead in the race, with women preferring him 56 percent to 43 percent. SurveyUSA released a poll on Tuesday giving him a 4 percentage point lead.
Two other polls — one Republican-leaning and the other Democratic-leaning — gave Gillum similar single-digit leads. The results are largely consistent across polling modes, with two live-caller surveys and two conducted online or using automated phone calls.
The polls indicate Gillum and DeSantis are facing an incredibly competitive race in a notorious swing state. Donald Trump won Florida by less than a 2 percentage point margin in the 2016 presidential election. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, also a Republican, won his re-election in 2014 by 1 percentage point. Scott, who is term-limited as governor, is facing a nearly tied race for a U.S. Senate seat against incumbent Bill Nelson (D).