Democrat Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is leading former Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) by 4 points in Florida’s gubernatorial race, according to a new Florida Chamber of Commerce poll released Wednesday.
Gillum leads DeSantis 47 percent to 43 percent in the statewide poll. The Democrat also leads his Republican opponent in all major media markets across the state except Jacksonville, according to the poll.
But despite Democrats having an advantage in voter registration in a state that is led by Republicans, the poll showed 48 percent of the likely voters in the sample believe the state is headed in the right direction, while 37 percent answered otherwise.
Gillum, who is backed by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), unexpectedly defeated former Rep. Gwen Graham (D-Fla.) in the state’s Democratic primary last month.
{mosads}DeSantis easily defeated Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam last month in the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary after being backed by President Trump in the race.
However, the president’s support is not guaranteed to boost the Republican’s electoral prospects.
A Quinnipiac poll from earlier this month found that 51 percent of respondents in Florida said they disapprove of Trump’s job as president.
DeSantis also faced much criticism last month after he urged voters to reject Gillum, who is black, by warning them not to “monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state.”
Many found the remark to be racially charged and called on the Republican to issue an apology. DeSantis has since downplayed the criticism and later said the remark had “zero to do with race.”
Days later, the Gillum was target by racist robocalls from an out-of-state white supremacist group, which DeSantis’s campaign condemned.