Mahoney up by 7 percent in Foley's district, 11 percent undecided

[Herman Munster]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-afoleypoll15oct15,0,554613.story?coll=sfla-news-sfla

Democrat Tim Mahoney leads Republican Joe Negron by 7 percentage points in a critical congressional election to replace disgraced U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, but the Foley page scandal is not influencing how most people plan to vote, according to a South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers poll.

With partisan control of the U.S. House of Representatives hanging on a few closely fought races, a Democratic gain in Florida's 16th Congressional District -- typically Republican territory -- could be a decisive factor, national experts said.

If the District 16 election were held today, 48 percent of respondents said they would vote for Mahoney, a Palm Beach Gardens businessman, and 41 percent would back Negron, a state representative from Stuart. A sizable 11 percent remain undecided, with just over three weeks before the election.

Independent voters, who are angry over how Republican leaders handled the Foley scandal, could prove pivotal in the District 16 race, the poll showed. Non-party affiliated voters account for 85,325, or 18 percent, of the district's 477,372 registered voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

[DaveinMD]

1. polling in this race

isn't likely to be very reliable. How many people will actually pull the lever for Foley?