Florida Gubernatorial candidates Ron DeSantis (R) and Andrew Gillum (D). The Florida governor’s race is too close to call, with 50 percent of likely voters for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democrat, and 47 percent for U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, the Republican, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released September 4. There are wide gender and racial gaps, as men back DeSantis 52 – 45 percent, while women back Gillum 55 – 42 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. White voters go Republican by a narrow 52 – 45 percent, as black voters go Democratic 93 – 2 percent. Hispanic voters go 56 percent for DeSantis and 43 percent for Gillum. Florida likely voters give President Donald Trump a slightly negative 47 – 51 percent job approval rating. “Mayor Andrew Gillum came out of his upset victory in the Florida Democratic primary with a head of steam,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. “That momentum shows itself as Gillum hits 50 percent in a neck-and-neck match-up with Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis for the four-year lease on the governor’s mansion.” “Neither man was well-known before their primaries, but since then the race has become a center of political attention in the state,” Brown added. The economy is the most important issue in their vote for governor, 23 percent of Florida likely voters say, with 14 percent each for immigration and health care, 13 percent for gun policy, 12 percent for the environment and 10 percent for education. From August 30 – September 3, Quinnipiac University surveyed 785 Florida likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points, including the design effect. Live interviewers call landlines and cell phones.