Press Release for Thursday, October 9, 2014

UNF Poll Reveals Crist Leads in Florida Governor Race

Media Contact: Joanna Norris, Director

Department of Public Relations

(904) 620-2192

A new University of North Florida statewide poll reveals Charlie Crist has a five percentage point lead, head to head, over Gov. Rick Scott—47 to 42 percent among likely Florida voters—in the gubernatorial race. In the three-way race, Crist leads 43 to 38 percent, with Adrian Wyllie garnering 10 percent of the vote. In addition, 41 percent of likely voters polled approve of how Scott is handling his job as Florida’s governor, while 54 percent disapprove.

Sixty-seven percent of likely voters polled responded that they would vote “yes” for Amendment 2, allowing the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician. This is in stark contrast to the percentage of likely voters polled who support allowing adults in Florida to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, which is 44 percent.

Forty-six percent of likely voters believe that the economy, jobs and unemployment is the most important problem facing Florida today.

The survey was conducted between Monday, Sept. 29, and Wednesday, Oct. 8, and includes 471 likely voters (+/- 4.74 percent). Approximately 261 trained student interviewers from UNF’s political science classes participated in the data collection.

The survey was conducted by the Public Opinion Research Laboratory’s (PORL) 27-polling stations at UNF. Through the use of Random-Digit-Dialing methodology, the PORL proportionally sampled the 10 media markets in the state. In addition, a cell phone sample and an overlay sample were used to increase representation of the state of Florida. Age, gender, race, education and party registration were weighted to the 2014 U.S. Census, as well as to statistics from the Florida Division of Elections for party registration.

Below are the full results. For further information or questions about the methodology, contact Dr. Michael Binder, UNF assistant professor of political science and PORL faculty director, at (904) 620-1205 or m.binder@unf.edu .

Sample

	N
Florida Residents	788
Registered Voters	671
Likely Voters	471

If the election for governor were being held today, whom would you vote for between Rick Scott the republican and Charlie Crist the democrat?

	Likely Voters N= 402
Rick Scott	42%
Charlie Crist	47%
Someone Else	2%
DK (Don’t Know)	9%

If the election for governor were being held today, whom would you vote for between Rick Scott the republican, Charlie Crist the democrat and Adrian Wyllie the libertarian?

	Likely Voters N= 406
Rick Scott	38%
Charlie Crist	43%
Adrian Wyllie	10%
Someone Else	<1%
DK	8%

Amendment 2 on the statewide ballot in November is called “Use of Marijuana for Certain Medical Conditions.” This amendment allows the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician. If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no for this proposition?

	Likely Voters N= 427
Yes	67%
No	28%
DK	5%

Do you support or oppose allowing adults in Florida to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use?

	Likely Voters N= 423
Support	44%
Oppose	53%
DK	3%

Do you approve or disapprove of the way that Rick Scott is handling his job as governor of Florida?

	Likely Voters N= 418
Approve	41%
Disapprove	54%
DK/NA	4%

What do you think is the most important problem facing Florida today?

	Likely Voters N= 427
Economy, Jobs and Unemployment	46%
Education	16%
Health Care	12%
Immigration	8%
Environment	4%
Crime	5%
Terrorism	2%
Other	4%
DK	3%

Demographics

Are you a registered democrat, republican, no party affiliation or something else?

	Likely Voters N= 415
Democrat	41%
Republican	40%
No Party Affiliation	19%

What is your age? Is it:

	Likely Voters N= 425
18 to 24	5%
25 to 44	22%
45 to 64	43%
65 plus	30%

What is the highest grade in school or year of college you have completed?

	Likely Voters N= 428
Less than High School degree	1%
High School Graduate	18%
Some college	50%
College Graduate	20%
Post Graduate	10%

Respondent gender

	Likely Voters N= 432
Male	49%
Female	51%

Racial/Ethnic Background

	Likely Voters N= 423
Caucasian (non-Hispanic)	74%
African American	11%
Hispanic	10%
Other	5%

UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.

-UNF-