Latest Poll Gives DeSantis Near 10-Point Lead Over Democrat Opponents

August 17, 2022 Updated 11:33 A.M. ET

JACKSONVILLE (FLV) – The latest poll from the University of North Florida gives Gov. Ron DeSantis a near 10-point lead over Democrat challengers Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried.

They found that DeSantis holds a near-equal lead over both candidates, beating Fried by 7 points and Crist by 8 points.

The same poll showed a deep swing in the Democrat nomination for Florida governor, handing Fried a 4 point lead over Crist, out of line with existing polls. Fried touted the poll on her social media.

The poll is the first of its kind to be aggregated by RealClearPolitics heading into the 2022 election, with the last one being at the start of 2022. Polling releases are expected to become more regular as election season kicks up.

University of North Florida’s poll was conduced from August 8-12 using a random sample of 1,624 registered voters by the Public Opinion Research Lab. The partisan breakdown was 36% Democrat, 41% Republican, and 23% Independent or unaffiliated.

DeSantis also holds a massive fundraising advantage over Crist and Fried, boasting a $135 million war chest and raising almost $25 million in July alone.

According to RCP, DeSantis’ lead has increased over Crist since last year and remained relatively consistent over Fried.

The incumbent Republican leads Crist by an average of 6.2 points and Fried by an average of 9.6.

Democratic candidate for governor and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist raised about $2.5 million in July. Crist has $4.5 million cash on hand. Agriculture Commissioner and Democratic candidate for governor Nikki Fried raised about $1.4 million in July.

In June, DeSantis raised $10.2 million with a total of $112 million on-hand cash in his war chest.

At that same time, Crist raised about $1 million for the month of May. Crist has $6.3 million of on-hand cash in his political war chest. Fried had raised about $300,000 for the month of May with $3.9 million on hand.