Florida GOP Gov Race Goes Down to the Wire
Tuesday will see several important primaries taking place. In Florida, self-funded candidate Rick Scott hopes to hold off a late surge by GOP-backed Bill McCollum.
August 24th will see several important primaries taking place. Most of the media attention will be focused on Arizona and Florida, though primaries are also taking place in Alaska, Vermont, and Oklahoma. These are some of the major races for today:
Florida Governor – GOP Primary
For a while, self-funded gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott was leading in the polls and was the favorite to win the nomination over GOP-backed candidate Bill McCollum. (FrumForum was able to secure an exclusive interview with Rick Scott at the height of his polling numbers.) However, recent polling suggests the race has tightened significantly. Public Policy Polling has Scott leading 47-40 and this is within the poll's margin of error. The newest Mason-Dixon poll has McCollum leading Scott by 34-30, and McCollum also leads Scott 39-35 to in a Quinnipac University poll.
While Rick Scott may no longer be clearly leading, it is also clear from these polls that a lot of voters remain undecided.
Florida Senate – Democratic Primary
With Marco Rubio guaranteed to be the Republican senate nominee and Charlie Crist committed to running for the seat as an independent, the remaining interest in the Florida Senate race is on the Democratic side. While real estate billionaire Jeff Greene spent $23 million of his own money on the race, the establishment-backed Kendrick Meek has managed to regain the lead. Stories about wild parties on Greene’s 145-foot luxury yacht did not help his campaign.
Florida 8th District – GOP Primary
Liberal standard-bearer and provocateur Alan Grayson currently represents Florida’s 8th district so it’s no surprise that seven Republicans are competing in the district’s primary. The GOP slate of candidates has a full spectrum of candidates, with members of the establishment with careers in politics such as State Rep. Kurt Kelly and former Senate President Daniel Webster, to Tea Party candidate Todd Long who is the author of his own book, “Conservative Comeback: How to Win the Battle for the Soul of America.”
Arizona Senate – GOP Primary
The Arizona GOP primary looked set to be a nail-biter race between Sen. John McCain and J.D. Hayworth. A November 2009 Rasmussen polled showed the race was tight, with McCain leading Hayworth by only two points, 45-43. On the eve of the primary, it's a very different situation. TheHill.com reports that McCain is poised to “crush” Hayworth. Hayworth’s role in a dubious 2007 infomercial and McCain’s aggressive campaign seemed to have kept McCain’s political career from ending.
Alaska Senate – GOP Primary
The GOP primary in Alaska looks set to provide another datapoint in the long series of “Tea Party vs. Mainstream GOP” match-ups of 2010. In this case, the Tea Party candidate and Palin endorsed Joe Miller is challenging the incumbent, Sen. Lisa Murkowski. However, despite the Tea Party Express PAC spending nearly $500,000 in Alaska, the few polls taken in Alaska show Murkowski leading by roughly 20 points and her campaign is expecting a comfortable win.
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