New Poll Puts Former Gov. Crist ahead of Gov. Scott

Former Gov. Charlie Crist leads incumbent Gov. Rick Scott in a new poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University.

The university reported if the gubernatorial race were held today, the Republican-turned-Democrat former governor would beat Scott with 45 percent of the vote, to Scott’s 40 percent, if the race were a two-way matchup.

Crist’s lead is down from the results of an April Quinnipiac survey, which had the former governor with an 10-point lead, garnering 48 percent of the vote to Scott’s 38 percent.

Quinnipiac also found Crist is the more favored candidate than his Democratic primary rival Nan Rich, winning 41 percent of the primary vote to Rich’s 34.

But when Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Adrian Wyllie is thrown into the bunch, Crist’s lead narrows to 39 percent, with Scott receiving 37 percent and Wyllie receiving 9 percent of votes.

Wyllie, 44, touts Libertarian views, including individual rights, lower taxes and reduced business regulation.

The Libertarian candidate runs an IT consulting firm in Palm Harbor and has been married to his wife Dawn for 22 years. They have two sons.

Wyllie could be the deciding factor in Florida’s November governor race, according to Quinnipiac.

“Libertarian Adrian Wyllie is not, at this point, a serious contender to win the governorship,” assistant director Peter Brown of Quinnipiac Poll said in a news release.

"But he may have a great deal to say about who does win.”

Among registered Republicans, Scott received 79 percent of the general election vote to Crist’s 12 percent in a two-way race. Scott’s advantage goes down to 74 percent in a three-way matchup, with Crist getting 9 percent and Wyllie winning 5 percent of GOP votes.