Florida’s primaries are fast approaching, and a new poll, obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, shows Republican Austin Rogers with an ever-increasing lead in the race to succeed Rep. Neal Dunn (R., Fla.).
A new poll, conducted by co/efficient on behalf of Panhandle Patriots PAC, shows Rogers leading Keith Gross and the rest of the field in the race’s final days. Rogers now leads the field with 25 percent support.
Recently, Rogers and Gross, along with their well-funded allies, have hammered each other on the airwaves, allowing Florida GOP Chair Evan Power to rise to second place in the poll; Power has 15 percent support, followed by Luke Murphy with 13 percent.
However, co/efficient argues that Rogers is peaking at precisely the right time. “The primary has changed shape since June,” it noted in its polling memo. “Rogers overtook Gross on the ballot as Gross’s image collapsed under scrutiny, and the trajectory is still moving in both directions: Rogers gains ground with every voter who tunes in, while Gross loses it. With over a quarter of the district still undecided, the fundamentals point to Rogers heading into the August 18th primary.”
While there are still large swathes of undecided voters in the electorate, Rogers has the highest favorable ratings of all the candidates in the race. “Rogers leads by 10 points and pairs it with the field’s best image ratio,” the memo notes. “Gross is the only candidate underwater, with more than half the district viewing him unfavorably.”
Rogers’s polling lead has been matched in recent days by his constant rollout of local and national endorsements. The Reporter previously first reported that Rep. Derek Schmidt (R., Kansas) endorsed Rogers’s campaign — Rep. Brandon Gill (R., Texas) followed suit shortly thereafter, joining most of the House GOP’s leadership in backing Rogers.
