Pollquake: Rick Scott leads McCollum in GOP guv primary; Greene makes Dem Senate primary too close to call
by George Bennett | June 10th, 2010Two big-spending outsiders have shaken up Florida politics, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.
Former health care exec Rick Scott of Naples, who entered the race in April, holds a 44-to-31 percent lead over Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican primary for governor, the poll says.
And Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene, who filed April 30, is in a virtual tie with U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek for the Democratic Senate nomination. Meek holds a 29-to-27 percent edge with 37 percent undecided. Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre gets 3 percent.
“Mothers may tell their children that money can’t buy happiness, but what these results show is that money can buy enough television ads to make political neophytes serious contenders for major political office,” says Quinnipiac’s Peter Brown.
The poll also finds strong support among Floridians for Arizona’s new crackdown on illegal immigration — an issue Scott has featured in his barrage of ads.
The Republican poll of 814 likely primary voters was conducted June 2-8 and has a 3.4 percent margin of error. The Democratic sample was 785 and has a 3.5 percent margin of error.
Scott is viewed favorably by 40 percent of Republicans and unfavorably by 12 percent. The McCollum campaign has tried to drive up Scott’s negatives by noting he was head of hospital giant Columbia/HCA in the 1990s and the firm later paid more than $1.7 billion in penalties and settlements for fraudulent billing of the government.
Scott has acknowledged “mistakes” were made on his watch, but has used the issue to try to paint McCollum as a career politician.
“Bill McCollum’s been in politics 30 years. You’d think he’d want to talk about his record. Instead, he’s just attacking me. That’s what career politicians do,” Scott says in a recent TV spot.
Meek, a four-term congressman from Miami who has been running for Senate for a year, remains unknown by 59 percent of Democratic primary voters. Newcomer Greene, who has spent heavily on TV ads and mailers over the past month, is unknown by 64 percent.
Arizona’s immigration law requires police who have made a “lawful stop, detention or arrest” to attempt to determine a person’s immigration status if “reasonable suspicion” exists that the person is in the country illegally. Critics say it invites racial profiling.
The law is favored by 59 percent of Florida voters and opposed by 29 percent in the poll. Fifty-five percent say Florida should enact a similar law. And Floridians by a 51-to-37 percent margin reject the criticism that the law will lead to discrimination against Hispanics.
Democrats oppose the Arizona law by a 51-to-31 percent margin. But the law has 86 percent Republican support and independents approve of it by a 56-to-34 percent margin.
Asked in general if immigration policy should “move in the direction of integrating illegal immigrants into American society or in the direction of stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration,” the survey found 68-to-24 percent support for the enforcement approach. That’s nearly identical to December 2007 Quinnipiac poll that found 66-to-24 percent support for enforcement over integration.
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June 10th, 2010 at 7:23 am
Great news in both races! We’re tired of the same old BS candidates such as McCollum and Meeks. I wish I could duel register and vote for both Scott and Greene in the primaries.
June 10th, 2010 at 7:33 am
Breaking up the establishment is worth every penny of it! These corrupt entrenched boogers suck up to each other and endorse each other. That makes to see which crooks are tied at the hips. I have developed a simple method. If they are in I vote out! Even when they are trying to get voted into new office because of term limits,
IN = OUT! GO RICK SCOTT AND YES! I WOULD TAKE GREEN OVER MOMA’S BOY MEEK ANYTIME!
June 10th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
“”Arizona’s immigration law requires police who have made a “lawful stop, detention or arrest” to attempt to determine a person’s immigration status if “reasonable suspicion” exists that the person is in the country illegally.”"
Which is the same effort all local law enforcement are supposed to use when no valid ID is on the person of anyone arrested… How many Illegals does ICE transport from the PBC jail each day from the 300 arrests that are made!
Take your own look at the photog info – you’ll agree at least 30 are Illegals…
News from honest brokers report Illegals are leaving Arizona in droves seven weeks BEFORE the new law begins. Some schools report 10% of their Illegals admit moving to Sanctuary locations such as CA!
In 2007 when AZ enforced employer sanctions against hiring Illegals over 100,000 left the state…
AG Bill McCollum has done nothing in four years to enforce any related Florida Employment Laws – Work Comp, General Liability, Auto Liability, SUTA, OSHA, etc. that would put Illegal Employers out of business — mucho pronto!!
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Rick Scott gained fame by personally battling BILLARYcare after turning two hospitals into 350 in 6 years!! Clinton retribution against “HMO’s” was thousands of rules and regulations no one could decipher for Medicare. Hospitals from Mayo Clinic to Johns Hopkins all were charged with “fraud”. The total “settled” was not 5% of the estimated $100 Billion “Waste, Fraud and Abuse” annually eminating from MD’s treating, drugging, labbing, clinicing, hopitalizing, rehabbing, home healthing, etc…..
Republicans passed Medicare Modernization and Improvement Act of 2003 (MMA 2003) to remedy the abuses and total inefficiency of having 48 “intermediaries” and claims operators on Medicare. 15 Medicare Administration Contractors went thru a rigorous 5 year bidding process to do single source professional claim processing – completed before Bush left office. Region 9 includes Florida’s 3.4 Million Medicare Seniors, along with PR & Guam, its 1,000 EE’s are located in Jacksonville .
Rick Scott took on BARAMAcare with $millions of his own personal money from a grand entrepreneurial adventure! People know him and his message – just didn’t locate him then! Rick Scott was never questioned, investigated or charged with any impropriety. He retired when his board did not wish the expense risk of exposing the charade of GOVT prosecution improprieties – a sheer Bonito Mussolini style vendetta against capitalists ala AG Janet Reno!
Searching hard , it appears Rick Scott may be the real deal. He seems to be a true conservative maverick that is not for sale to any bidder! Bill McCollum had his chance, was an excellent US Rep (that fought for Rick Scott and all firms like his against Clinton’s barrage) – frankly he blew every chance of a legacy as AG, deserves no more higher office…
June 11th, 2010 at 11:34 am
I’m an independent and I will vote for Scott. I don’t agree with everything he says but his stand on immigration, among some other things, is enough for me.
McCollum is a career politician who will run for anything that comes along and he has done just that. The Dems have nobody that impress me in any way.
Now, if we can dump Rubio out of any chance to win the senate race and get rid of some of these jerks in the state congress maybe FLA can begin to move back out of the dark ages.
June 11th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Here’s a practical Tea Party type strategy to create a “Citizen Congress”
A Congress of career politicians will never represent “We the People”, because their highest priority is getting reelected with the help of Big Money.
But “We the People” have more votes than “Big Money” has, and thus can end Congress as a career for professional politicians by never reelecting incumbents.
We can impose single terms every two years, by never reelecting Congress.
Always vote, but only for challengers. Never reelect incumbents.
Keep this up until Congress is mostly “one-termers”, a citizen Congress.
Then keep it up every election, to make a citizen Congress a permanent reality.
Every American’s only intelligent choice is to never reelect anyone in Congress!
The only infallible, unstoppable, guaranteed way to get a truly new Congress,
and a cleaned up new politics is
NEVER REELECT ANY INCUMBENT! DO IT EVERY ELECTION
tenurecorrupts.com
June 13th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
A Bigger News Story Than Bathroom Stall “Toe-Tapping”: The Story Behind Charlie Crist, Bill McCollum and Jim Greer
http://www.bloggybayou.com/2010/06/question-what-do-charlie-crist-bill.html
Cheers