Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #10430

Geography Surveyed: FL 9th Congressional District
Data Collected: 10/16/2006 - 10/18/2006
Release Date: 10/19/2006 10:45 AM ET
Sponsor: WFLA-TV Tampa

Bilirakis Lead Shrinks In FL9, But Seat Still Appears Safely Republican: In an election in Florida's 9th Congressional District today, 10/19/06, Republican Gus Bilirakis defeats Democrat Phyllis Busansky 57% to 36%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WFLA-TV Tampa. Since an identical SurveyUSA WFLA-TV poll released 9/26/06, Bilirakis has lost 4 points and Busansky has gained 4 points. Bilirakis had led by 29, now leads by 21. Bilirakis has lost the most ground among Independents, going from a 21-point lead to a tie with this group. Bilirakis gets 89% of Republican votes. Busansky gets 76% of Democrat votes. 17% of Democrats cross over to vote for the Republican. Bilirakis leads 7:1 among conservatives, down from 15:1. Busansky leads by 4:1 among liberals, up from 3:2. Moderates remain divided. Among those who approve of President George W. Bush's performance in office, 92% pick Bilirakis. Of those who disapprove of Bush, 69% pick Busansky. President Bush's approval rating among FL9 likely voters is 48%. Bilirakis is the son of the Republican incumbent, Michael Bilirakis, who is retiring after 24 years in the House. The election is in 19 days, on 11/7/06.

Filtering: 700 Registered Voters from Florida's 9th Congressional District, chosen using Registration Based Sample from Aristotle International, were interviewed 10/16/06 - 10/18/06. Of them, 429 were judged to be "likely" voters. Crosstabs reflect Likely Voters.