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PPP: Scott trails Crist by 12, Sink by 5, leads Rich

Posted Mar 19, 2013 by William March

Updated Mar 20, 2013 at 03:25 PM

Gov. Rick Scott’s job approval ratings are still under water, and he trails leading Democratic contenders for governor, in a new Public Policy Polling survey.

The poll showed Scott has problems within his own party. Only 42 percent of Republicans in the poll said they hope to see him nominated to run for re-election in 2014, while 43 percent said they’d prefer another Republican candidate.

In hypothetical general election matchups in the poll, Republican Scott trailed potential Democratic nominees including former Gov. Charlie Crist by 52-40 percent; Pam Iorio by 44-37 percent; and Alex Sink by 45-40 percent. He led Nan Rich 42-36 percent.

The poll, done after Scott called for expansion of the state Medicaid program—a move likely blocked by Republicans in the Legislature—showed 57 percent of voters disapprove of his performance in office to 33 percent who approve.

Despite a continued barrage of attacks on Crist by the state Republican Party since he switched parties, Crist retains a favorable impression among 28 percent of Republicans, and got the votes of 29 percent of Republicans against Scott.

Crist led in a potential Democratic primary matchup with 50 percent to 21 percent for Sink, 9 percent for Iorio and 3 percent for Rich, with 16 undecided.

Despite his problems among Republicans, Scott held long leads against potential challengers in a GOP primary. He led Pam Bondi by 46-27 percent; Adam Putnam by 48-24 percent; and U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho by 54-13 percent.

Public Policy Polling is a North Carolina-based, Democratic-oriented polling and consulting firm which says its published polls are neutral and not paid for by any political party or candidate.

The poll, done with automated dial “robopoll” methodology, included 500 Florida voters plus 300 usual Democratic primary voters and 326 Republican primary voters March 15-18 for error margins of 4.4 points for the overall sample; 5.7 points in Democratic primary questions and 5.4 points in Republican primary questions.

Full results here.