Joe Biden Takes Lead in Florida, Bernie Sanders Loses Traction After Castro Remarks

Joe Biden (D) has retaken the lead in Florida from Mike Bloomberg (D) while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is rising nationally and dominating in several Super Tuesday state polls, continues to fail to gain traction in the Sunshine State, a St. Pete Polls survey released Thursday showed.

Taken February 25-26 2020, among 2,788 likely Florida Democrat Presidential Primary voters, the survey showed Biden retaking the lead in Florida from Bloomberg in a significant way, with 34 percent to the former New York City mayor’s 25 percent. That represents a seven-point jump for Biden and a seven-point drop for Bloomberg since the last poll. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) continue to fail to make any significant strides in Florida, coming in a distant third place with 13 percent support. His failure to gain traction in Florida has been a reality but solidified following his controversial remarks on Fidel Castro’s Cuba, praising the literacy rates under his oppressive regime and proclaiming that the people did not revolt because the dictator “educated their kids, gave them health care, [and] totally transformed the society.”

Florida Democrats blasted Sanders’ praise of the dictator, including Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), who called the remarks “absolutely unacceptable,” and Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL), who stated that she hoped Sanders would “take time to speak to some of my constituents before he decides to sing the praises of a murderous tyrant like Fidel Castro”:

The Castro regime murdered and jailed dissidents, and caused unspeakable harm to too many South Florida families. To this day, it remains an authoritarian regime that oppresses its people, subverts the free press, and stifles a free society.

— Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (@DebbieforFL) February 24, 2020

I'm hoping that in the future, Senator Sanders will take time to speak to some of my constituents before he decides to sing the praises of a murderous tyrant like Fidel Castro. https://t.co/Iwvmay9LOH pic.twitter.com/KT9sQ0pfkh

— Donna E. Shalala (@DonnaShalala) February 24, 2020

As for the Florida survey, no other candidate came close to the top tier:

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