Gov. Rick Scott (R) faces former Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the GOP to run as an independent in his 2010 failed Senate bid and, later, switched to the Democratic Party.
Scott, a former health-care executive who barely won election in 2010 on a campaign he largely self-financed, has been trailing in the polls. But with the state’s unemployment rate down 5 percent since 2010, the governor may have a more plausible claim to have led Florida out of the financial doldrums inherited from Crist.
With both candidates scoring net negatives in approval ratings, voters in neither camp may be highly motivated to show up at the polls, adding another note of uncertainty to the race.
