Riding a late TV advertising blitz and Jeb Bush's endorsement, Bill McCollum has pulled into a statistical tie with rival Rick Scott in the Republican gubernatorial race, a new Sunshine State News Poll finds.

McCollum trails Scott 44 to 42 percent in the poll conducted Aug. 12-15. The survey sampled 1,000 Republican voters likely to cast ballots in next Tuesday's primary election.

The attorney general was 16 points behind Scott in a July 10 poll. Both surveys were conducted for Sunshine State News by Voter Survey Service.

McCollum picked up 12 percentage points in the new survey while Scott dropped 2 points. The field of undecided voters dwindled from 28 percent to 18 percent.

"McCollum’s growth is largely due to a surge in support with both senior citizens and voters in North and Central Florida. With seniors, he overcame a 41-31 deficit in July to pull to a 42-42 tie in the current survey," said Jim Lee, president of VSS.

In North Florida, Scott’s 18 point lead in July was reduced to a statistical 40-39 tie. In Central Florida, McCollum's home base, Scott’s earlier 45-30 margin evaporated to a 41-41 tie.

Scott still leads in South Florida (46-39), but this also represents a tightening of the race in comparison to his 42-29 edge in July.  

In both polls, Scott’s strongest region has been his home base of Southwest Florida, where he led McCollum by 22 points in the July poll and 18 points in the current survey. 

McCollum also erased a 24-point deficit among males. Where he trailed Scott in July, 49-25, he has pulled to within two points at 42-40.

"Since the percentage of undecided voters is fairly uniform across the state (averaging between 15 and 20 percent) the race now comes down to turnout, and who does a better job getting out their base," Lee said.

"McCollum has to be considered the candidate with the momentum, though, given that Scott’s support has remained virtually flat," Lee stated.

Using late cash infusions to buy TV spots portraying his experience and conservative bona fides, McCollum apparently has managed to lower his negative ratings, which were at a toxic 50 percent in the July poll.

Jeb Bush's endorsement since the initial poll is also believed to have raised McCollum's credibility as a viable candidate.

The latest survey did not measure positive/negative ratings, but Lee said "campaigning since the last poll has leveled the playing field and resurrected McCollum's image to some extent.

"I didn't think we'd see this much movement in three weeks. Momentum has clearly shifted. To what extent McCollum might hit a brick wall, we just don't have the answer yet."

University of Florida political science professor Daniel Smith opined that "primary voters are sticking with the more-known commodity, Bill McCollum."

Scott, he added, "tends to be doing better in polls that cast a wider 'likely voter' net."

Scott, who didn't enter the race until April, quickly built up his name recognition on the strength of a TV advertising campaign, funded almost exclusively from his own wallet. The retired health-care executive and his wife have spent an estimated $30 million of their personal wealth in less than five months.

That's more than triple the amount raised by McCollum, though the attorney general has widely benefited from nominally independent "527" groups -- U.S. Sugar Coporation and its $680,000 is among them -- and leading Republican lawmakers' campaign funds, which have financed much of his TV advertising.

Questioned about the poll before the specific numbers were made public, McCollum spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said, "Everyone knows it's incredibly tight right now.

"Floridians are learning more about Rick Scott beyond the 30-second ads, about the massive Medicare fraud, and about alarming new allegations about possible criminal activity at Solantic (Scott's new chain of walk-in clinics).