With Jim Davis trailing by 21 points in the governor's race, pollster John Zogby says the Democrats have no one on the top of the ticket to deliver party-wide victory. With five weeks left before the general election, only one Democrat on the statewide ballot -- U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson -- is leading his challenger, while Republicans hold double-digit leads from the governor's race to all but one of the Cabinet races, a new Miami Herald poll shows.
The conclusions of the survey by Zogby International spell trouble for the Democratic Party. With two open Cabinet seats and a popular Republican governor leaving office, Democrats had hoped to seize the advantage this pivotal election year by snatching at least one Cabinet seat from Republicans and regaining control of the governor's office. But the poll shows that prospect may be fading: Democrat Adelaide ''Alex'' Sink trails Republican Tom Lee by 13 percentage points for the Cabinet post of chief financial officer, while Democrat Eric Copeland trails incumbent Republican Charles Bronson by 12 points for agriculture commissioner.
| “With Democrat Jim Davis behind Republican Charlie Crist by 21 points in the governor's race, Davis provides no coattails on which the rest of his party's ticket can ride...” |
The closest contest appears to be the attorney general's race, between Democratic state Sen. Walter ''Skip'' Campbell of Fort Lauderdale and Republican Bill McCollum, the former congressman. McCollum, who has run statewide twice before, leads Campbell 42 to 38 percent.
In each of the Cabinet races, however, between 20 percent to 25 percent of the voters still haven't made up their minds. That indecision means the Cabinet races could become more competitive, pollster John Zogby said. But for that to happen, Democrats Sink, Campbell and Copeland can't rely on the top of the ticket to get out the Democratic base, ''they've got to run their own campaign,'' Zogby said.
With Democrat Jim Davis behind Republican Charlie Crist by 21 points in the governor's race, Davis provides no coattails on which the rest of his party's ticket can ride, he said. ''Democrats appear to be rudderless,'' Zogby said. ``Aside from [Nelson] who's already a household word, it's important for there to be a strong candidate at the top of the ticket to energize voters and get voters out.'' |