A new DCCC-commissioned poll finds that challenger Stephanie Murphy is now within the margin of error (45%-48%) against 23-year incumbent John Mica in the race for Florida’s 7th Congressional District. This is a remarkable achievement for Murphy, who announced her candidacy in June of this year, and is yet another demonstration of just how toxic Donald Trump’s candidacy is for Mica in this newly-competitive swing seat.
After only a week of ads highlighting Stephanie Murphy’s powerful story and commitment to fix Washington, Murphy has made a significant dent in Mica’s lead in an August poll that showed the incumbent ahead by 18 points. The poll is also a demonstration of how the national environment and Donald Trump’s toxic candidacy are damaging Mica – Clinton leads Trump by 6 points (47% Clinton/41% Trump) in the district. Even worse for Mica, almost half of voters (47%) think that the Congressman will go along with Trump’s divisive, reckless agenda, which is particularly damning in a district that comprises nearly 30 percent nonwhite voters and that is one of the youngest and most affluent in Florida.
Murphy’s support is also growing as more voters become familiar with the former national security expert, and notably, she is virtually tied with a long-tenured incumbent despite so far only being known by a third of voters. Murphy’s support has grown with every demographic group since the August poll.
“It’s clear that voters in Florida’s 7th district are not only rejecting Donald Trump, but also John Mica for his willingness to enthusiastically put his party before country and support his reckless, dangerous nominee for president. Congressman John Mica may be a decades-long incumbent, but he is now in the political fight of his life,” said Christie Stephenson of the DCCC.
Read the poll memo here.