Polls Indicate DeSantis Widening Win-Margin Over Crist as Election Day Nears

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – According to two recent polls, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is continuing to expand his lead over Democrat Charlie Crist.

One poll, aggregated by RealClearPolitics out of USA Today/Suffolk, gives DeSantis a hefty 7-point lead over the Democrat challenger, 47.8%-41%. The partisan breakdown is 37D-37R-21NPA and the poll was conducted among 500 likely voters from Sep. 15-18.

The same poll gives Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio a smaller 4-point lead over Democrat U.S. Rep. Val Demings.

Another poll, released by Civiqs, gives both Republicans a lead over their Democrat opponents, but Rubio with a smaller one.

In the Civiqs poll, DeSantis also holds a 7% lead over Crist: 52%-45%. It gives the Florida governor a 51% favorability rating to Crist’s 37%. Rubio holds a narrower 2-point lead over Demings: 49%-47%. It was conducted among 617 likely voters from Sep. 17-20.

Earlier in September, aggregated polls in RealClearPolitics gave DeSantis a 4-point lead, with the new aggregate widening to 4.8-point.

Post-primary, one poll gave DeSantis a 3 point lead in late August, then 4, 5, and the latest one – 7, indicating a potential change in momentum in the incumbent’s favor among the public.

Crist also received a post-primary fundraising boost after winning the nomination, but still sags far behind DeSantis overall.

Another election analysis and poll website – FiveThirtyEight – gives DeSantis a 93% chance of winning re-election to Crist’s 7%, with most of DeSantis’ win outcomes occurring around the 7-to-10-point win margin, at the time of reporting.

DeSantis surpassed the gubernatorial fundraising record as he raised $177.4 million through Sept. 9, according to OpenSecrets.