FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ A poll of Florida likely voters released Tuesday _ one week before Election Day _ shows the critical races for Florida governor and U.S. Senate are too close to call.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum and Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson have slight leads over their Republican opponents _ but they're so close that the races effectively are tied.
The poll, conducted by Suffolk University for the USA Today Network, found:
_ Gillum, 45 percent; Republican gubernatorial nominee Ron DeSantis, 44 percent.
Another 8 percent were undecided and 2 percent refused to respond. A potentially decisive factor: Four other candidates whose names will appear on the ballot _ one Reform Party candidate and three with no party affiliation _ received a combined total of 1.4 percent.
_ Nelson, 45 percent; Republican senatorial nominee Rick Scott 43 percent.
Another 10 percent were undecided and 2 percent would not respond.
_ Republicans and Democrats have largely made up their minds in both races and overwhelmingly favor their party's nominees. Many independent voters _ 23 percent in the governor's race and 27 percent in the Senate race _ are undecided.
Suffolk University polled 500 likely voters and people who said they've already voted using live callers to cell phones and landlines. The poll, conducted from Thursday through Sunday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The Suffolk University/USA Today Network poll found that Gillum led DeSantis among women (50 percent to 38 percent), young voters (50 percent to 34 percent), black voters (81 percent to 4 percent) and Hispanic voters (52 percent to 36 percent).
DeSantis led among men (51 percent to 40 percent), older voters (61 percent to 31 percent) and white voters (53 percent to 37 percent).
Suffolk University is among the best regarded pollsters in the business. Pollster ratings from statisticians at fivethirtyeight.com give Suffolk a B-plus rating.
In the 2016 presidential election, Suffolk University's poll showed 1.4 percentage point lead for Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump won the state by 1.2 percentage points.
