Florida joy for Democrats? Gillum, Nelson storm into 7-point leads in late poll

Democrats could be storming to victory in two marquee races in Florida, according to a new poll.

Sen. Bill Nelson, an incumbent Democrat, looks be comfortably staving off a challenge by Republican Gov. Rick Scott while Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum is overwhelming Republican opponent Ron DeSantis

Nelson, who has served the Sunshine State in the Senate since 2001, has a 7-percentage-point lead one day before Election Day, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday.

Nelson has 51 percent support among likely voters in Florida, whereas 44 percent back Scott. His momentum heading into Tuesday appears to be sustained by black, Hispanic, independent, and women voters.

[New: Bill Nelson has 4-point lead over Rick Scott in Florida Senate race: Poll]

Quinnipiac additionally found that Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum also has a 7-point lead over Republican opponent Ron DeSantis by winning the same demographic groups as Nelson.

Both sets of results from Quinnipiac build on trends captured by RealClearPolitics’ poll aggregator, which has Nelson up by 2.5 points and Gillum ahead by 3.1 points.

The race for Florida’s governor mansion seemed to be on President Trump’s mind. He visited the state twice in the last week of the 2018 midterm election cycle, making campaign stops in Fort Myers and Pensacola.

“REMEMBER FLORIDA: I have been President of the United States for almost two years,” Trump tweeted Monday morning. “During that time Senator Bill Nelson didn’t call me once. Rick Scott called constantly requesting dollars plus for Florida. Did a GREAT job on hurricanes. VOTE SCOTT!”

“If @AndrewGillum did the same job with Florida that he has done in Tallahassee as Mayor, the State will be a crime ridden, overtaxed mess,” he wrote of Gillum, who has been mayor of the state’s capital since 2014. “@RonDeSantisFL will be a great Governor. VOTE!!!!!!”

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,142 Florida likely voters between Oct. 29 and Nov. 4 using landlines and cell phones. Its outcomes have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.