Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has slipped behind a Democratic gubernatorial rival in a new poll as he faces scrutiny over his handling of the pandemic amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the Sunshine State.
The survey, conducted by Florida-based firm St. Pete Polls, found that 45 percent of voters said they would vote for Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist (Fla.), who previously served as governor from 2007 to 2011, while 44 percent said they would back DeSantis.
St. Pete Polls noted that Crist’s lead was within the survey’s margin of error of 1.6 percentage points.
About 11 percent of the more than 3,900 respondents in the poll, conducted from Monday to Tuesday, said they were still undecided about their choice for governor heading into the 2022 contest.