Poll: Gillum leads DeSantis by 3 points in Florida governor race
Andrew Gillum the man who could become Florida’s first Black governor is leading his Republican opponent by 3 percentage points, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.
The Tallahassee Mayor, a Democrat, has edged ahead of U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., in the race that is drawing nationwide attention.
Fifty percent of the likely voters surveyed said they would cast ballots for Gillum while 47 percent said they would vote for DeSantis.
The margin of error of the study is 4.3 percentage points.
Independent voters also leaning more towards Gillum, by 13 percentage points, according to the poll.
Gillum’s campaign was encouraged by the news.
“The Gillum campaign’s off to a great start, with Mayor Gillum raising the resources we need to win and our message resonating with voters across the political spectrum,” Geoff Burgan, communications director for Gillum’s campaign, said in a statement published by msn.com.
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DeSantis’ campaign was not as affected by the poll.
“Polls come and go,” campaign communications director Stephen Lawson said in a statement, also published by msn.com. “What Ron DeSantis is focused on is moving Florida forward by building our economic success, protecting our environment and empowering parents to make the best educational decision for their children. Andrew Gillum wants to take us backwards with socialist, high tax policies that would be a disaster for our state for generations to come.”
DeSantis has received the nod from President Trump, while Gillum is supported by former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, the Independent U.S. Senator from Vermont. Gillum delivered a surprise upset in the Democratic primary last week against former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham.
The Quinnipiac poll involved 785 like voters who were surveyed from Aug. 30 through Sept. 3.
A survey released last week by the firm Public Policy Polling concluded Gillum led DeSantis by 5 percentage points. The margin of error of that study was plus or minus 4 percentage points, The Hill reported.
