The rock-'em, sock-'em campaign by Rick Scott and Bill McCollum is driving up the negatives of both GOP gubernatorial candidates, a new poll reports.
As if that weren't bad enough, the poll itself has been called into question for its financial ties to the McCollum campaign.
The July 25-26 telephone survey of likely Republican voters found that Scott's negative numbers climbed to 37 percent while McCollum's negative rating moved up to 43 percent.
The poll by McLaughlin & Associates also indicated that the race may be tightening, with Scott leading McCollum 37 percent to 33 percent.
“The results of this poll show a dead heat, with the candidates statistically tied within the margin of error," said Timothy Stapleton, executive vice president of the Florida Medical Association, which commissioned the poll.
The FMA, which endorsed McCollum earlier this month, noted that 30 percent of respondents are still undecided in the contest, even though Scott and McCollum have spent millions on TV advertising in the past 90 days.
"Most disturbing to Rick Scott has to be the fact that as the story of his real record gets out, his negatives continue to rise," the McLaughlin analysis states. "Among undecided voters, Rick Scott has a net negative rating of only 16 percent favorable to 43 percent unfavorable."
In conclusion, McLaughlin stated, "Even after being outspent 4-to-1, Bill McCollum, with just enough resources, can win this race."
But McCollum, whose campaign reserves have dwindled to less than $600,000, has a steep challenge. Despite the spin put on the latest poll, an internal poll leaked earlier this week showed the attorney general's position deteriorating.
That survey, also conducted by McLaughlin, reportedly had McCollum down 6 points to Scott. A previous McLaughlin survey showed the two candidates tied.
McCollum's downward movement might have been related to his acceptance of $1.2 million from the state's public campaign fund -- a move widely criticized by conservatives.
One thing all the polls seem to agree on is that both Scott and McCollum are paying a price for pounding on each other.
The latest survey shows more respondents view McCollum unfavorably than favorably: 43 percent to 37 percent. Scott's "favorables" top his "unfavorables" by a single point: 38 percent to 37 percent. But his negative numbers have risen 6 percentage points since the previous poll.
Scott campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Baker declined to comment, except to call the McLaughlin survey "trash ... coming straight from McCollum."
Indeed, McLaughlin received $1.39 million from the Florida First Initiative between July 15 and July 28. Florida First is a 527 campaign fund linked to McCollum.
McCollum spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said, "We all know this race is very close. What is consistent in every single poll we have seen is that the more voters learn about Rick Scott’s role in overseeing massive Medicare fraud and his hypocrisy on issues from illegal immigration to the stimulus, the more they agree Bill McCollum is the solid conservative leader the state needs."
The relatively high negatives on both sides, for now, appear to benefit Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink.
A Public Policy Polling poll, which tends to lean left politically, last week showed Sink, for the first time, leading both Scott and McCollum in a hypothetical fall matchup.
A Quinnipiac poll, which has no ideological ties to any of the players or parties in the contest, will have more to say about that later this week.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 559-4719.