FAU Poll: DeSantis, Putnam in Dead Heat as Graham opens Double-Digit Lead

BOCA RATON, Fla. (August 22, 2018) – Less than a week before the primary election to determine who will be the Democratic and Republican candidates for Florida’s next governor, Ron DeSantis and Adam Putnam are in a statistical tie on the Republican side and Gwen Graham has opened up a 12-point lead on Philip Levine among the Democrats, according to the statewide survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).

On the Republican side of the race for governor, DeSantis has seen his lead drop from nine points less than one month ago to only one point over Putnam, 32 to 31 percent, with 22 percent undecided. The margin of error for likely voters in the Republican primary is +/- 6.5 percentage points.

“Adam Putnam appears to have regained some of his footing in the gubernatorial race,” said Kevin Wagner, Ph.D., professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow of the Initiative. “The difference may be which candidate is better able to turnout their supporters in the next week.”

Among the Democratic candidates, Graham now leads Levine, 29 to 17 percent, after leading him by only four points in July. Jeff Greene and Andrew Gillum are tied for third at 11 percent each, followed by Christopher King at 10 percent, with 19 percent undecided. The margin of error for likely voters in the Democratic primary is +/- 6.3 percentage points.

“One factor driving Graham’s lead is her support among females,” said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., director of the BEPI. “As the only female candidate, she leads the field with 32 percent of the female vote. Males also support her, but to a lesser degree at 25 percent.”