New polling data released in race for Florida's governor

New polling data suggests that Charlie Crist holds a significant lead over Nikki Fried in the Democratic gubernatorial primary race. The winner will face incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Primaries are just about a month away and the race for governor is at the top of many voters minds.

According to the most recent RealClear Politics poll, former governor Charlie Crist holds a significant lead over Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried in the Democratic gubernatorial primary race by 17 percentage points. If Crist wins the nomination, the same poll shows current Governor Ron DeSantis is ahead by 8 percentage points.

Former Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos says Crist has the advantage over Fried because he is seen as the more well-known candidate.

"Nikki Fried is going to try and make up some of that ground this week in the first statewide televised debate. She's running as the ‘true liberal.' Charlie Crist is running as the moderate at this point. Remember, he is a former Republican, former independent for that matter. He seems to be the frontrunner."

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However, Haridopolos says that DeSantis is sitting on over $100 million in campaign money and could pretty quickly start defining Crist as someone voters "can't trust."

The Florida Primaries are on August 23.