Sunburn — The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics — 2.3.22

By Peter Schorsch

Good Thursday morning.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist has a commanding lead in the Democratic Primary for Governor, according to a new poll commissioned by his campaign.

The poll of 800 likely Democratic Primary voters showed Crist, a former Governor, with 54% support — nearly double that of Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (28%) and leagues ahead of Sen. Annette Taddeo (7%).

Another 11% of Democrats remain undecided six months out from Election Day.

The GBAO poll also found Crist with solid support among key demographics. He’s the pick for 61% of Black voters and 54% of White voters. The Congressman also holds a plurality among Hispanic Democrats, pulling 44% support compared to 21% for Fried and 17% for Taddeo. The gulf between Crist and Fried was equally pronounced among women (52%-28%) and men (57%-27%).

Southwest Florida is the most Crist-friendly pocket of the state. He enjoys 66% support there versus 26% for Fried and 4% for Taddeo.

The lone region where Crist does not hold a majority: North Florida. Nevertheless, he leads with 45% of Democrats supporting him compared to 34% backing Fried and 8% backing Taddeo.

GBAO conducted the poll Jan. 26-31 via live interviews on cellphones and landlines. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@RepBrianMast: You know what will hurt Ukrainians more than sanctions on Russia? Being run over by a Russian T-90Tank.

—@MDixon55: Florida political social media has had two eras: pre-Christina, and whatever this is

—@SenJanetCruz: If our state is so focused on FREEDOM, why do our leaders work tirelessly to overextend government interference into citizens’ private decisions? Another day wasted instead of tackling real issues Floridians face: housing affordability, skyrocketing rents, & shrinking incomes.

Tweet, tweet:

Tweet, tweet:

—@HipHopLobbyist: Really biased here, but Congressman @AlLawsonJr is Black History; he’s an ingrained part of Florida’s history and a living legend. Really messed up how they are politicizing his district when the issues for Black Floridians in Tallahassee, Lake City & Jax are the same.

—@MDixon55: In short, if you’re going to run a roof scam, just make sure the target is not a state Senator

Tweet, tweet:

Tweet, tweet:

—@AGlorios: I’ve noticed that I’ve been telling people in the Fla. Capitol that I’m returning to Session after “a long illness,” as opposed to “cancer.” It’s just easier.

—@JpGillin: I appreciate the HBO programming tech who keeps putting on 28 Weeks Later, about how a deadly virus eventually infects the world because an asymptomatic carrier doesn’t follow quarantine rules.