Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum has opened up a 10-point lead over Democrat Alex Sink in Florida’s race for governor, a new Quinnipiac University poll says.

McCollum leads Sink, 41 percent to 31 percent, in a poll that has a 2.4 percent margin of error. McCollum held a 4-point lead in polls last August and October.

The poll also finds 57 percent of Floridians oppose the Democratic health care overhaul legislation moving through Congress and 55 percent favor increased drilling in federal waters off Florida — but not if rigs are as close as five miles from shore.

Poll respondents generally don’t support relaxing immigration laws in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti that is likely to increase the number of refugees leaving the island.

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UPDATE: From Rep. Adam Hasner’s House Majority Office via Twitter: Unbelievable. Incomprehensible tragedy and FL Dem Ron Saunders plays politics with Haiti earthquake. Zero class.

If Republicans support a corporate income tax cut, they should be able to find some cash to help disaster victims in Haiti, said Florida Rep. Ron Saunders, D-Key West.

“They know where all the secret stashes are,” Saunders said. “I used to know where they were when I was budget chairman.”

Saunders, who hopes he can lead House Democrats to overcome a 76-44 disadvantage to Republicans this year, said he wasn’t playing politics with the tragedy unfolding in Haiti. “If I wanted to play politics, I’d say we should use the $6 million Republicans misspent on an airplane hanger,” Saunders said. “But I’m not going to bring that up.”

House budget chairman David Rivera, R-Miami, responded: “The speaker is looking at options to assist the victims of the disaster in Haiti.”

The earthquake in Haiti has hit home for a number of South Florida state lawmakers, including Rep. Mack Bernard, D-West Palm Beach, who was born in Port-au-Prince and lived there until he was 10 and moved to Delray Beach.

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