The surveys followed two weeks of generally favorable news for Gillum, the Florida Democratic Party’s first African-American nominee, whose surprise primary win on Aug. 28 generated significant buzz. | Joe Rondone/Tallahassee Democrat via AP Poll: Gillum keeps narrow lead over DeSantis

MIAMI — Andrew Gillum has a marginal 4-point lead over Rep. Ron DeSantis in the latest Florida gubernatorial race poll, the second survey since the Aug. 28 primary showing the Democrat slightly edging the Republican.

Gillum’s 47-43 percent lead over DeSantis might not be much of a lead at all, however, because the error margin for the poll — which was paid for by the GOP-leaning Florida Chamber of Commerce — is 4.4 percentage points.


“Politically speaking, this is an interesting poll because most voters have learned a little about Ron DeSantis, yet most voters don’t know Andrew Gillum because he is a surprise winner and the most liberal of the Democrats on the ballot that ran in the primary election,” Marian Johnson, the chamber’s senior vice president of political strategy, said in a written statement.

"It’s going to be interesting to see if Gillum, who is backing policies by Bill Nelson, yet supported by Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and George Soros will hold onto this lead while voters begin to understand his background and policies,” she said. “Or if Ron DeSantis and his policies will continue gaining popularity and propel him to succeed Governor Scott as Florida’s next Governor. The election is more than 50 days away and that’s a lifetime in Florida politics.”

The poll, conducted by Cherry Communications, surveyed 514 likely Florida voters. About 41 percent of the sample was Democratic and 40 percent was Republican. A poll released last week from Quinnipiac University had a slightly higher margin of Republicans in its sample and also showed Gillum with an inside-the-error-margin lead of 3 points.

The surveys followed two weeks of generally favorable news for Gillum, the Florida Democratic Party’s first African-American nominee, whose surprise primary win on Aug. 28 generated significant buzz. DeSantis was quickly knocked off message after Democrats accused him of using racist language for cautioning voters to not “monkey this up” in choosing the next governor. DeSantis denied having any bigoted intent in using the phrase.

The chamber survey showed DeSantis and Gillum each receiving 83 percent support from their respective political parties’ voters, while taking 10 percent of the vote from voters registered with their rival’s party. Gillum’s edge: independent and third party voters who support him over DeSantis by 44-30 percent.

The poll also showed a gender gap. Women supported Gillum’s ticket over DeSantis by 10 points while men sided with DeSantis over Gillum by 4 points. And there was a racial division as well. White voters backed DeSantis over Gillum by 53-36 percent and non-whites supported Gillum over DeSantis by 64-27 percent.

A big potential advantage for DeSantis, who has pledged to continue Gov. Rick Scott’s legacy: 48 percent of likely voters believe Florida is headed in the right direction, and 37 percent believe it isn’t.