Florida Republican candidates hold double-digit leads in key races

Republican candidates for Florida’s governor and U.S. Senate hold double-digit leads according to a statewide survey from Stetson University’s Center for Public Opinion Research. In the race to succeed Governor Ron DeSantis, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds leads former U.S. Rep. David Jolly 51% to 39%. In the Senate race, Ashley Moody leads State Rep. Angie Nixon 51% to 40%. The survey indicates that voters are largely supporting their preferred candidates rather than voting primarily against opponents.

During a recent economic forum, the gubernatorial candidates presented differing visions for the state. Donalds advocated for maintaining existing reforms to curb lawsuits and remove fees from the state catastrophic fund. Jolly proposed a state-backed hurricane wind fund to lower property insurance rates, a plan Donalds has characterized in campaign advertisements as a 'hurricane tax.' Jolly has denied these claims, stating his goal is to fix a broken system to save homeowners money.