Poll: Gillum leads DeSantis by 6 points in Florida governor race

Democrat Andrew Gillum holds a 6-point lead over Ron DeSantis (R) in the hotly contested gubernatorial campaign in Florida, according to a new poll.

The Reuters–Ipsos–UVA Center for Politics poll found that 50 percent of voters surveyed support Gillum, compared to 44 percent who back DeSantis.

The remaining percentage of voters said they support a different candidate or did not indicate support for any candidate.

{mosads}Gillum and DeSantis are running to replace outgoing Gov. Rick Scott (R), who is term-limited and running for Senate. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates the gubernatorial contest a “toss-up.”

The Reuters poll shows Gillum with a slightly larger cushion than most other polls have shown thus far.

A RealClearPolitics average of polls in shows Gillum with a lead of roughly 4 percentage points.

Gillum, currently the mayor of Tallahassee, has earned the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and has campaigned on a progressive agenda that includes expanding Medicare to cover everyone.

DeSantis, who resigned as a congressman earlier this month to focus on campaigning for governor, has received the endorsement of President Trump.

DeSantis sparked controversy just a day after he and Gillum won their respective primaries when he urged voters not to “monkey this up” by voting for Gillum, who would be the state’s first African-American governor, and his policies in the November election.

His comments prompted fierce backlash, with critics suggesting the remarks had racial undertones or were outright racist.

DeSantis denied that race had anything to do with his comments, but instead argued he was focusing on “ideas and principles.”

The Reuters–Ipsos–UVA Center for Politics poll surveyed 1,000 voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.