'OUTSIDERS' IN THE LEAD?
This is the primary election of millionaire outsiders, a new poll shows. Republican Rick Scott holds an 11 percentage-point lead over Attorney General Bill McCollum in the GOP race for governor, a Quinnipiac University poll finds. In the main statewide race for Democrats — the U.S. Senate contest — Jeff Greene is beating U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek by 10 percentage points, the poll shows. Neither Greene nor Scott have held elected office before. McCollum has held or run for office for the past 30 years. Meek has been in Congress and the Legislature for more than a decade. Both political newcomers have relied on a simple formula to best their rivals: Spend millions on television ads and watch your poll numbers rise. Greene has outspent Meek by an estimated $6 million. Scott has poured an estimated $30 million into his race, doubling what McCollum has spent.
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St. Petersburg Times - 07/29/2010