ORLANDO, Fla. – A new Mason-Dixon poll released Tuesday shows that voters have not made a clear determination in either the Democrat or Republican party as to which candidate they will choose to nominate in Florida's gubernatorial primary elections.
The poll revealed that votes are up for grabs on either side of the aisle, with 49 percent of voters being undecided in the Democratic primary race.
"Florida voters have no idea who they'll be voting for," News 6 political expert James Clark said. "They just don't know yet. It's too early."
Former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, daughter of former Gov. and Sen. Bob Graham, has the lead for the Democratic side with 20 percent of the vote. On the Republican side, Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam has a 4 percentage point lead over Ron DeSantis, who currently has 23 percent of the vote.
"The early surveys are showing these candidates don't have name recognition and are going to have to get it somehow," Clark said.
To garner recognition among voters, candidates in Florida are expected to spend a record amount on political advertising.
"We're talking upwards of $200 million being spent in Florida on elections between now and November 6," Clark said.
Clark noted that the number of undecided voters should change dramatically closer to election day and once political ads start rolling out.
A total of 500 registered Democratic voters and 500 Republican voters in Florida were interviewed between January 29 and February 1 for the Mason-Dixon poll.
Primaries in Florida are scheduled for August 28 with the general election on November 6.
Read more about the poll here.