Headline Surfer® photo / DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Following an afternoon of glad-handing by candidates for public office at the Ocean Center, mostly between themselves and their campaign volunteers, the results of a Daytona chamber-sponsored straw poll had Mitt Romney beating Barack Obama, with 60 percent of the vote.
But Romney's magic didn't rub off on Republican Dorothy Hukill in the dist. 8 state senate battle with Democrat Frank Bruno, who received 54 percent of the vote to her 46 percent.
The straw poll vote sets the stage for Sunday night's 90-minute Headline Surfer® public candidate debate between Hukill and Bruno at the Brannon Center in New Smyrna Beach.
The debate begins at 6 p.m. and citizens who attend will be encouraged to actively participate during the public participation portion before closing arguments.
The debate is sponsored by Headline Surfer and will be the public's final opportunity to see the two go head to head before early voting begins Oct. 27.
There were 300 in paid attendance at the Ocean Center, most of them either chamber members or volunteers with more than three dozen candidates, said Jim Cameron, vice president of chamber government relations.