TALLAHASSEE — Florida voters and their key 27 electoral votes are evenly split on who should be president.


Of possible greatest interest in the state, the polling suggests Republican John McCain should not pick Gov. Charlie Crist as a running mate. The numbers show Mitt Romney — former governor of Massachusetts and opponent for the party's nomination — as a better choice to sway Floridians in November.

"While Florida voters like Crist, it is probably safe to say that they prefer the first-term governor stay in Tallahassee and do the job he was elected to do less than two years ago," said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research.

A News-Press Mason-Dixon Florida Poll of likely Florida voters shows Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican pick John McCain in a statistical dead heat. If the election were held today, 45 percent would vote for Obama and 44 percent would vote for McCain. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent, so either candidate could be in the lead.

The election will be decided by the 11 percent of undecided voters, and in Florida the key will be in the central part of the state along the populous Interstate 4 corridor that bisects the peninsula from Tampa through Orlando to Daytona Beach.

"Once again, the battle for Florida appears to be at the political epicenter of another presidential race," Coker said.

McCain polls well with older North Florida men -- more than half of each of those demographics said they'd vote for him.

Obama gets support from younger South Florida women -- greater than 50 percent of those groups said they'd vote for the Democrat.

The survey of 625 likely voters on Monday and Tuesday revealed that Obama's pick of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate made little difference to Florida voters.

McCain's pick, however, could be decisive.

Romney's selection would make 32 percent of surveyed voters more likely to vote for a McCain ticket.

"Romney particularly helps strengthen McCain's GOP base, with 50 percent of Republicans saying selecting Romney makes them 'more likely' to back McCain," Coker said. "With McCain's GOP support running under 80 percent in the state, solidifying the party base is an important consideration."

Crist, however, wouldn't give McCain the same bump — 17 percent said they'd be more likely to vote for the Arizona senator if Crist were on the ticket.