FL-Gov: Charlie Crist (D) Hits Rick Scott (R) On Education Cuts In New Ad

Received this e-mail today from Charlie Crist's (D. FL) gubernatorial campaign:

Today we're releasing our newest TV ad, "Doorway."

I wanted you to see it first. Take a look, then chip in $10 or more to help us make more just like it:

https://donate.charliecrist.com/...

"Doorway" is about our schools -- because if we want to build a better Florida, we need to start with our kids.

Rick Scott cut education spending by $1.3 billion, hurting their chances at a better future.

How can he sleep at night?

This ad goes up on TV today -- watch it first, then chip in $10 or more to stand by it:

https://donate.charliecrist.com/...

God bless you,

Charlie

P.S. Quinnipac released it's latest poll on this race:

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/...

The poll shows former Gov. Charlie Crist, the favorite to win the Democratic primary next month despite spending most of his political life as a Republican, leading with 39 percent with Gov. Rick Scott right behind him with 37 percent. Libertarian Adrian Wyllie takes 9 percent. When Wyllie is left out of the poll, Crist’s lead increases. In that scenario Crist takes 45 percent while Scott garners 40 percent.

In both cases, Crist’s list has dwindled from a Quinnipiac poll taken at the end of April which found him beating Scott 48 percent to 38 percent. However, a majority of those surveyed in the new poll -- 51 percent -- say Scott does not deserve another term while 40 percent say he does.

"The campaign to be Florida's next governor tightens slightly and takes on a new dimension with a third candidate in the running," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, on Wednesday. "Libertarian Adrian Wyllie is not, at this point, a serious contender to win the governorship. But he may have a great deal to say about who does win."

When former Florida Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich replaces Crist in the poll, Scott leads 41 percent to to 34 percent.

The poll finds the two leading candidates are upside down. While 43 percent of voters view Scott favorably, 48 percent see him as unfavorable. Only 40 percent of those surveyed approve of Scott’s performance in Tallahassee while 45 percent disapprove of it. While 40 percent see Crist in a favorable light, 42 percent view him as unfavorable. Wyllie is largely unknown, with 92 percent of those surveyed saying they don’t know enough about him to have an opinion. Rich is also unknown, with 83 percent of those surveyed not knowing enough about her to have an opinion.

"Virtually no one knows much about Wyllie, but there are a lot of Floridians who aren't keen on either of the major party candidates, Gov. Rick Scott or former Gov. Charlie Christ," Brown said.

Despite having joined the Democrats in December 2012, Crist has the base rallied behind him, but his old colleagues in the GOP clearly have no use for him any more despite having been their statewide nominee four times. Republicans go for Scott 79 percent to 12 percent while Democrats break 78 percent to 10 percent for Crist. Wyllie draws from both parties when he is included in the mix. Republicans go 74 percent for Scott, 9 percent for Crist and 5 percent for Wyllie when the Libertarian is included. Democrats go Crist’s way 73 percent, to 9 percent for Scott and 6 percent for Wyllie.

Wyllie makes his mark with independents. Crist takes 36 percent of these voters while 34 percent go for Scott and 12 percent back Wyllie. When the Libertarian is taken out of the mix, Crist leads Scott, 45 percent to 38 percent.

Back in April’s poll, 52 percent of those surveyed saw Crist’s party-switching as positive while 40 percent said it was negative. Now 47 percent see it as positive and 45 percent view it as negative. - Sunshine State News, 7/23/14

Here are some more details:

http://www.miamiherald.com/...

Crist still edges Scott overall in measures of likability, compassion and caring in the poll of 1,251 self-identified registered voters, which has a 2.8 percentage-point error margin.

But the underlying trends in Quinnipiac’s polling since April favor Scott:

• Strong leadership. By 54-38 percent, voters say Scott is a strong leader compared to Crist’s 49-43 percent. That’s close to the opposite of the April findings. Scott’s index has moved 11 percentage points in the governor’s favor, Crist’s index has moved 12 points to his detriment.

• Truthfulness. Crist took a notable hit in appearing honest and trustworthy. His -9 index (39-48 percent) is down from a +2 index in April. That’s a net 11-point shift. Scott’s index is about the same.

• Favorability. Only 40 percent have a favorable impression of Scott and 45 percent an unfavorable impression. But his -5 favorability index is an all-time high and a 2-point improvement since April. Crist’s 40-42 percentage favorability spread is an all-time low; a -2 index that represents a 9-point shift to his detriment.

• Job approval. Scott’s anemic 43-48 percent job-approval numbers is his best ever. The -5 index represents a 3-point shift in his favor since April.

• Compassion and caring. Does Crist care about voters? More say no than yes now. His index is -3, a 9-point shift against him. Scott’s index is worse: -11. But that’s an improvement from -17. Crist is seen as more compassionate than Scott by 12 percentage points, but the spread is 3 points smaller than it was in April.

• Head-to-head lead. Leaving out Wyllie, Crist’s 5-point lead of 45-40 percent has been cut exactly in half from his 10-point, 48-38 percentage lead he had in April.

The poll has far worse news for little-known Democrat Nan Rich, who faces Crist in the Aug. 26 primary. She’s losing to Scott head to head by a 42-36 percent margin.

One of Rich’s lines of attack against Crist — his switching from Republican to independent to Democrat —yields mixed results in the poll; 47 percent view the party-switching positively and 45 percent see it negatively.

Scott’s effort to tie an unpopular President Obama to Crist, who helped the Democrat win his 2012 reelection in Florida, might be even less effective. Asked if a vote for governor was a vote for or against Obama, respondents were evenly split at 16 percent, but 65 percent said it made no difference. - Miami Herald, 7/23/14

We're in for a tight race but we can still win it.  Click here to watch the ad again and contribute to Crist's campaign to keep it on the air:
https://donate.charliecrist.com/...