The Senate race between Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is as close as it can be.
A new poll by the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida (UNF) released Monday shows the two candidates tied at 45 percent, with 9 percent of respondents saying they didn’t know for whom they would vote.
Nelson has won reelection relatively easily ever since he began his first six-year term in 2001. But Scott is putting up a tough challenge to the three-term incumbent, who is considered among the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection this year.
{mosads}But some Democrats are still bullish about the senator’s chances of keeping his seat, noting that polls have consistently remained tight even with Scott drastically outspending Nelson.
Nelson is one of 10 Democratic senators seeking reelection this year in states won by President Trump in 2016. The Cook Political Report, an election handicapper, rates the Florida race as a toss-up.
The UNF poll also shows that more Democrats than Republicans are undecided on who they will vote for in November. Michael Binder, the faculty director of the Public Opinion Research Lab at UNF, said that could ultimately be a silver lining for Nelson.
“Nelson and Scott are currently tied, but one bit of hope for Nelson is that more Democrats are unsure who they will vote for – and partisans will come home in November,” Binder said in a statement. “With polling numbers this close, the candidates that are most successful getting their voters to the polls are the ones who are going to win.”
The UNF poll surveyed 605 likely voters from Sept. 17-19, and has a margin of error of 3.95 percentage points.