A new poll conducted by David Jay Wolfson on behalf of the Jay Collins campaign has the lieutenant governor picking up significant steam against frontrunner Byron Donalds in the governor's race with the Republican primary less than six weeks away.
Results of the poll are below:
Byron Donalds: 37%
Jay Collins 20%
James Fishback 9%
Paul Renner 2%
Undecided: 28%
"The numbers tell a very different story than they did just a few weeks ago," Collins Campaign Manager Ted Veerman first told POLITICO through a release. "Byron Donalds has not reached escape velocity despite entering the race with nearly universal name recognition and President Trump's endorsement. At the same time, Lieutenant Governor Collins has surged since commencing a multimillion-dollar state advertising blitz early last month. Of particular note, former Speaker Renner is dead in the water, and this is now a two-man race between Jay Collins and Byron Donalds. Jay Collins is the only viable alternative to Byron Donalds."
Lt. Gov. Collins launched a seven-figure media ad buy to boost his gubernatorial campaign in April.
It appears to be working, with Lt. Gov. Collins calling it a "two-man race" in a post on social media in response to the poll's findings.
"The latest polling confirms what we've been seeing across Florida: our campaign is growing because of supporters like you," Collins wrote. "Sound familiar? It should. This is starting to look a lot like 2018. The political establishment doesn't decide who becomes Governor. Florida Republicans do."
Gov. Ron DeSantis, then a gubernatorial candidate, surged in the Republican primary against Adam Putnam before defeating Democrat Andrew Gillum in 2018. Collins is hoping to repeat that same magic.
Notably, the poll represents a significant momentum shift to averages showing Rep. Donalds with a massive lead over Collins, Renner, and Fishback. Specifically, averages of two recent polls, Associated Industries of Florida and Change Research, have Donalds at 51% to Fishback's 8.5%, Collins' 6.5%, and Renner's 2.5%.
