By WILL WHATLEY, Alabama Daily News
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – While Alabama’s election proves to be a low-key affair, contests in neighboring states are highly-competitive with major implications hanging in the balance.
Montgomery-based survey research firm Cygnal recently released polling results for some high-profile races in battleground states the upcoming midterm elections.
Florida
In Florida, interest in the midterm elections are very high according to Cygnal’s polling. When participants were asked how interested they were on a scale from 0 to 10, 84% rated their interest as being a 9 or 10.
Florida gubernatorial candidates Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum are in a statistical tie, with DeSantis leading Gillum 47.3% to 46.7%. Less than 2% of voters are undecided.
The race for one of Florida’s U.S. Senate seats is also neck and neck, with incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson edging out former governor Republican Rick Scott 50%-48%, well inside the margin for error.
“There is a hyper-partisan environment in Florida right now,” said Brent Buchanan, Cygnal’s founder and president. “Despite that fact, DeSantis and Nelson are both overperforming the generic ballot. Republicans should feel encouraged about where these two key races are headed.”
The margin of error for the Florida polls is +/- 4.40%. The polling was conducted October 27-29 with 495 likely general election voters.
Full Cygnal Florida Polling Memo
Georgia
Like Florida, Georgia’s gubernatorial race is also polling close. Georgia Secretary of State Republican Brian Kemp leads former Georgia House of Representatives minority leader Democrat Stacey Abrams 49% to 47%, with 4% of respondents saying they planned on voting for Libertarian Ted Metz.
Cygnal’s survey was conducted October 28-30 with 504 likely general election voters, giving the polling a margin of error of +/- 4.36%.
Full Cygnal Georgia Polling Memo
Tennessee
Tennessee’s race for U.S. Senate isn’t as tight, as Republican Marsha Blackburn leads Democrat Phil Bredesen 51% to 46%.
The poll was conducted October 26-27 among 497 likely general election voters.
Cygnal’s Full Tennessee Polling Memo
Cygnal’s Full Tennessee Top Lines
Missouri
The polling for the Missouri race for U.S. Senate also shows a Republican in the lead as Josh Hawley leads Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill 49% to 46%, with 3% of voters undecided.
“People won’t find many surprises in the results of this poll; Hawley continues to lead and it appears to have grown compared to previous polls,” said Buchanan. “With voter enthusiasm so high, this race is going to still come down to the success of each campaign’s ‘get out the vote’ efforts.”
The survey was conducted October 26-27 among 501 likely voters, giving the poll a margin of error of +/- 4.38%.