Sen. Bill Nelson Leads Challenger Connie Mack by 8 Points, New Poll Reveals

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) is pulling ahead of Republican challenger Connie Mack in Florida, a Quinnipiac University poll released today indicates.

Along with President Barack Obama, Nelson has seen significant gains among Floridian voters- in January, he led Mack 41-40, a lead that has since increased to 44-36. A local news site says that Mack and Nelson are tied among male voters, but among females, Nelson is leading 46-32. The poll indicates:

“Today’s results compare to a tie with Nelson at 41 percent and Mack at 40 percent in a January 11 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University… Today, Nelson leads 46 – 32 percent among women, while men split 41 – 41 percent. Republicans go 75 – 9 percent for Mack while Nelson leads 80 – 7 percent among Democrats and 40 – 30 percent among independent voters, but 27 percent of these voters are undecided.”

Quinnipiac University Polling Institute’s assistant director Peter A. Brown explained that Obama’s gains in Florida have been a boon to Brown in the state.

“President Barack Obama’s surge in Florida is helping Sen. Bill Nelson’s re-election chances… Just as President Obama’s lead in the presidential race in the Sunshine State is fueled by female voters, so too is Nelson’s. He also is running better among several groups, including whites and Catholics and voters 50 to 64 years old.”

Late last year, Nelson came out swinging against partisan nonsense, excoriating both right and left for demonizing their adversaries. He said:

“The finger pointing and hyper-partisanship has to stop… Democrats need to see tea partiers as something other than debt-limit hostage-taking Republicans. And Republicans need to see President Barack Obama and Democrats as something other than big-spending socialists… We’ve got to stop this attack madness. We have to bring civility back to the public square…. It’s time to stop the shouting and bickering and political attacks. It’s time to show the world that America can take care of business.”

Later in the year, Nelson spoke to a conference, saying:

“People are so rigid, they are in their ideological boxes, they won’t move and it is my way or the highway. The people of our country are fed up with this nonsense. I tell you I am fed up with it. It is frustrating.”

The poll examining Nelson’s lead was conducted via landline and cell phone and had a 2.8% margin of error.