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By Natalie Venegas
Weekend Reporter
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Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, is narrowly leading his Democratic challenger former Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in a new Senate poll that was released on Friday.
The survey published by Emerson College Polling on Friday shows Scott leading Mucarsel-Powell in Florida's Senate race by 1 point, 46 to 45 percent. The poll with a sample of 815 likely voters in Florida was conducted between September 3 to 5 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Friday's polling shows a tight race between the two and the best result for Mucarsel-Powell as other recent polls have Scott in the lead by several points.
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According to a poll from Redfield and Wilton Strategies, Scott led by 3 points with 43 percent to Mucarsel-Powell's 40 percent. The poll with a sample of 850 likely voters in Florida was conducted between August 25 to 28.
Newsweek has reached out to Scott's campaign via email for comment.
Control of the Senate is up for grabs this year as Democrats and Republicans view themselves as having a chance of winning a majority. Democrats are defending several seats in competitive states, meaning they must hold onto nearly every seat they currently have to maintain a majority. Democrats currently hold 51 seats, including four independents who caucus with the party, while Republicans hold 49. To take full control of the Senate, Republicans must flip only two seats, with Ohio and Montana as their primary targets.
In response to Friday's poll, in an emailed statement to Newsweek on Sunday, Mucarsel-Powell's campaign directed Newsweek to a press note in which it states the polling shows the Democrat's momentum is growing.
"This new polling confirms what the Debbie for Florida campaign outlined in a memo on the state of the race earlier this week. Rick Scott is an unpopular and weak incumbent, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is a uniquely strong challenger, and this race will continue to tighten heading into November. As public polling shows an increasingly competitive race in Florida, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell continues to gain grassroots momentum against Rick Scott, who is historically unpopular and will face a highly motivated Democratic electorate this November," Mucarsel-Powell's campaign said.
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The recent polling comes a month after a USA Today/Suffolk/WSVN-TV Florida poll showed that Scott had a net favorable rating of minus 14 points. It showed Scott had a poor favorable rating, where the 71-year-old was viewed favorably by 35 percent of 500 likely voters in Florida, with 49 percent showing disapproval.
Mucarsel-Powell responded to the poll and told Florida Phoenix that it's "not the first poll that I've seen that Rick Scott is completely underwater. People know who he is across the state, and that's why they don't want to vote for him."
Mucarsel-Powell, who made history in 2018 when she became the first Ecuadorian American and the first South American-born person elected to Congress, is the only Latina vying for a U.S. Senate seat in November.
In response, Scott's campaign spokesperson Will Hampson previously told Newsweek: "Every election Florida Democrats say Rick Scott is in trouble and every election they lose. Bring it on."
Scott, who only won his 2018 election against Bill Nelson by 0.2 percent, is still considered the favorite to win November's Senate race.
"Scott has a history of winning razor thin statewide races in Florida, and in a state that has become significantly more red in the past six years, this could be another close race for Scott," Michael Binder, a professor of political science at the University of North Florida, said while sharing the results of a July 30 survey from the University of North Florida's Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) of 774 likely voters showed that Scott was just 4 points ahead of Mucarsel-Powell.
Update: 9/8/24, 6:01 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Mucarsel-Powell's campaign.
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