For Immediate Release: Contact: Ryan Duffy August 26, 2011 (850) 222-1996 Sachs/Mason-Dixon Florida Poll Finds Majority of Florida Republicans Undecided in Senate Primary Incumbent Senator Bill Nelson with comfortable lead in general matchups against GOP challengers Tallahassee, FL – The stunning results of a new Sachs/Mason-Dixon Florida Poll find a majority of Republicans have yet to commit to a candidate in the Senate primary and incumbent Senator Bill Nelson with a comfortable lead over top GOP hopefuls. “Florida Republicans are voting ‘undecided’ in a big way with less than one year before the Florida Senate Republican primary,” said Ron Sachs, president of Ron Sachs Communications. “While Senator Nelson has a comfortable lead for now, Republicans have yet to find their candidate and the field has yet to be settled.” Among the key findings of the August Sachs/Mason-Dixon Florida Poll: ! Senator Bill Nelson leads former U.S. Senator George LeMieux 49 percent to 34 percent; ! Former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner trails Senator Nelson 45 percent to 34 percent; ! Senator Nelson leads Congressman Vern Buchannan 45 percent to 35 percent; and ! Congressman Allen West, who recently announced he will not run for the United States Senate, trails Senator Nelson in a hypothetical matchup 44 percent to 38 percent. (more) 1 Sachs/Mason-Dixon Florida Poll on U.S. Senate Race – Page Two The August Sachs/Mason-Dixon Florida Poll also found Congressman Buchanan leading all Republican hopefuls: Vern Buchanan 14% Allen West 11% Adam Hasner 8% George LeMieux 7% Craig Miller 5% Mike McAlister 2% David Gee 1% Undecided 52% The Sachs/Mason-Dixon Florida Poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. of Washington, D.C. from August 18 through August 22, 2011. A total of 625 registered voters were interviewed statewide by telephone. All stated they vote regularly in state elections. The margin for error, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than plus or minus 4 percentage points. This survey also includes an over-sampling of 300 likely Republican primary voters. These additional voters were only asked the questions relative to the GOP primary races and not questions regarding the general election. The margin for error on this Republican sample is ±5.8%. # # # 2 *** 300 LIKELY REPUBLICAN PRIMARY VOTERS *** QUESTION: If the 2012 Florida Republican primary were held today, which one of the following candidates would you vote for as the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate? (ORDER ROTATED) Vern Buchanan 14% Allen West 11% Adam Hasner 8% George LeMieux 7% Craig Miller 5% Mike McAlister 2% David Gee 1% Undecided (NOT READ) 52% -------------------------------------------------------------- ------ ALL VOTERS QUESTION: If the 2012 election for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat were held today, for whom would you vote if the candidates were Bill Nelson, the Democrat, and George LeMieux, the Republican? STATE MEN WOMEN DEM REP IND NELSON 49% 44% 54% 81% 12% 41% LEMIEUX 34% 37% 31% 4% 67% 35% UNDECIDED 17% 19% 15% 15% 21% 24% 3 QUESTION: If the 2012 election for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat were held today, for whom would you vote if the candidates were Bill Nelson, the Democrat, and Adam Hasner, the Republican? STATE MEN WOMEN DEM REP IND NELSON 45% 41% 48% 75% 11% 40% HASNER 34% 40% 29% 7% 65% 32% UNDECIDED 21% 19% 23% 18% 24% 28% QUESTION: If the 2012 election for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat were held today, for whom would you vote if the candidates were Bill Nelson, the Democrat, and Vern Buchanan, the Republican? STATE MEN WOMEN DEM REP IND NELSON 45% 42% 48% 74% 11% 39% BUCHANAN 35% 39% 31% 5% 70% 32% UNDECIDED 20% 19% 21% 21% 19% 29% QUESTION: If the 2012 election for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat were held today, for whom would you vote if the candidates were Bill Nelson, the Democrat, and Allen West, the Republican? STATE MEN WOMEN DEM REP IND NELSON 44% 39% 48% 76% 9% 37% WEST 38% 39% 38% 7% 71% 42% UNDECIDED 18% 22% 14% 17% 20% 21% DEMOGRAPHICS: PARTY REGISTRATION: Democrat 280 (45%) Republican 244 (39%) Independent or Other 101 (16%) 4 AGE: 18-34 85 (14%) 35-49 169 (27%) 50-64 178 (28%) 65+ 192 (31%) Refused 1 - RACE/ETHNICITY: White/Caucasian 462 (74%) Black/African American 84 (13%) Hispanic or Cuban 74 (12%) Other/Refused 5 (1%) SEX: Male 300 (49%) Female 325 (51%) REGION: North Florida 120 (19%) Central Florida 130 (21%) Tampa Bay 115 (18%) Southwest Florida 70 (11%) Southeast Florida 190 (30%) 5 .