Poll Tracker

Peter A. Brown, the Polling Institute's assistant director, said McCollum's lead can be attributed his advantage to name identification among voters. He is familiar from a 20-year U.S. House tenure that began in 1981, his unsuccessful U.S. Senate bids as the GOP nominee in 2000 and as a primary candidate in 2004, and his comeback win for Attorney General in 2006.

By contrast, Sink is a businesswoman whose first campaign, in 2006, was for the office (equivalent to state treasurer) that she now holds.

"Ms. Sink's numbers indicate she has made a good first impression on Florida voters, but a much larger share of the electorate does not know her compared to McCollum," Brown said.

This is evident in the approval ratings included in the polling data. McCollum received ratings of 42 percent favorable and 13 unfavorable, with 43 percent saying they hadn't heard enough about him to form an opinion. Sink's ratings were 23 percent favorable and 8 percent unfavorable, while 68 percent of voters surveyed said they hadn't heard enough about her.

The two candidates are competing to succeed Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running for the U.S. Senate in 2010.

CQ Politics rates the race as Tossup.

To follow the 2009 and 2010 governors' races, check out CQ Politics' election map.

-- Rachel Kapochunas