The nation’s most closely watched governor’s race, the battle for the Florida governor’s mansion, just got even more interesting.
It turns out that the bitter fight between Republican incumbent Rick Scott and his predecessor, Republican-turned-independent-turned Democrat Charlie Crist, may be doing more than causing voters to turn off their TV sets to avoid the omnipresent and nasty TV ads from both sides.
The negative air war has created an opening for a third-party candidate who is unknown to more than nine in 10 voters and is scoring in the polls because Mr. Scott and Mr. Crist have so turned off parts of the electorate.
It’s not that Libertarian Adrian Wyllie has a serious chance to win the governorship, but a Quinnipiac Poll of registered Florida voters out this morning shows that he could decide which of the major party candidates emerges as the winner.
In a two-way race, Mr. Crist leads Mr. Scott 45%-40%, down from a 10-point lead three months ago when Quinnipiac last polled there. But when voters are asked about a three-way race that included Mr. Wyllie, the election is a statistical dead heat with Mr. Crist at 39%, Mr. Scott at 37% and Mr. Wyllie at 9%.
History shows that candidates who throw lots of mud often get some on themselves. That appears to be what’s happening. Two pieces of evidence: Both Messrs. Scott and Crist are viewed net negatively by the electorate and Mr. Wyllie is getting twice as many people who are voting for him (9%) than have a positive opinion of him (4%).
SOURCE: The Wall St. Journal
It turns out that the bitter fight between Republican incumbent Rick Scott and his predecessor, Republican-turned-independent-turned Democrat Charlie Crist, may be doing more than causing voters to turn off their TV sets to avoid the omnipresent and nasty TV ads from both sides.
The negative air war has created an opening for a third-party candidate who is unknown to more than nine in 10 voters and is scoring in the polls because Mr. Scott and Mr. Crist have so turned off parts of the electorate.
It’s not that Libertarian Adrian Wyllie has a serious chance to win the governorship, but a Quinnipiac Poll of registered Florida voters out this morning shows that he could decide which of the major party candidates emerges as the winner.
In a two-way race, Mr. Crist leads Mr. Scott 45%-40%, down from a 10-point lead three months ago when Quinnipiac last polled there. But when voters are asked about a three-way race that included Mr. Wyllie, the election is a statistical dead heat with Mr. Crist at 39%, Mr. Scott at 37% and Mr. Wyllie at 9%.
History shows that candidates who throw lots of mud often get some on themselves. That appears to be what’s happening. Two pieces of evidence: Both Messrs. Scott and Crist are viewed net negatively by the electorate and Mr. Wyllie is getting twice as many people who are voting for him (9%) than have a positive opinion of him (4%).
SOURCE: The Wall St. Journal
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