Rick Scott, Charlie Crist poll: Florida voters would prefer Crist over Scott if election held today

Florida voters would prefer former Gov. Charlie Crist , running as a Democrat, over Florida Gov. Rick Scott 50% - 34% if the 2014 election were held today, according to a newly released poll from Quinnipiac University.

Alex Sink, the Democrat who lost to Scott in 2010, leads him 45% - 34% in the poll.

Half of Florida voters view Crist's transition from Republican to independent and now to Democrat as a positive thing, 40% thought of it as negative.

The poll also uncovers the following opinions on Gov. Scott: only 32% say he deserves a second term in office, his job approval rating is a negative 36% - 49%, compared to his negative 36% - 45% disapproval in a December 19 survey by the independent Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

In a Crist-Scott faceoff, Scott carries Republicans 76% - 16%, loses Democrats 81% - 7% and loses the crucial independent vote 49% - 29%, according to the poll.

Between March 13 - 18, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,000 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

The survey includes 353 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 5.2%.

For the full breakdown of the poll results visit quinnipiac.edu .