Poll: Sink, Crist lead November contests

A new Quinnipiac University poll seems to indicate that negative advertising works.

Ask Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink. All the negative ads from the two Republicans attacking each other in the primary have allowed Sink to move ahead of either of them in the general election matchup in November.

If Bill McCollum was the Republican nominee, and the election were held today, 31 percent told Quinnipiac they would vote for Alex Sink, 29 percent were for McCollum, and 12 percent backed independent Bud Chiles.

If Rick Scott wins the GOP primary, Sink still wins, this time 39 percent to 29 percent for Scott, and still 12 percent for Chiles.

In both theoretical matchups, Sink has been slowly gaining over the last several months, and finally broke into the lead with this latest poll.

In the U.S. Senate race, Quinnipiac has found current Gov. Charlie Crist consistently ahead over the last several months, and the latest numbers seem to indicate it doesn’t matter much who wins the Democratic Primary for the Senate nomination.

If Kendrick Meek is the Democrat on the ballot in November, it lines up this way: Crist with 39 percent, Republican Marco Rubio with 32 percent, and Meek with 6 percent.

If the Democratic nominee is Jeff Greene, Crist gets 40 percent, Rubio 32 percent, and Greene 15 percent.

There’s more in the Qunnipiac poll, including questions about President Barack Obama’s favorability ratings, health care reform and the war in Afghanistan.