海角大神

The nation鈥檚 marquee race for governor has already been long and nasty, and now the Florida campaign is entering a final phase that includes televised debates and new efforts to cast doubt on the candidates.

As Gov. Rick Scott (R) of Florida prepares to face off against former Gov. Charlie Crist (D) under the TV lights, the Republican has been hit with a Democratic lawsuit arguing that he鈥檚 violated state requirements that he disclose his personal finances.

The issue isn鈥檛 a new one for Governor Scott, a multi-millionaire who has put much of his fortune in a blind trust. And the election campaign includes a host of other issues voters care about, from education to immigration. (Friday鈥檚聽debate, the first of three, will be aired Friday night on the Spanish-language Telemundo network.)

But the questions about Scott鈥檚 money and his transparency are playing their own important role in a campaign where both candidates have big flaws in the eyes of voters.

Democrats are attacking Scott as 鈥渢oo shady for the Sunshine State鈥� 鈥� highlighting how he made his millions at a hospital company from which he resigned as chief executive officer before the firm pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud and other crimes. Mr. Crist, meanwhile, has been tarred for shifting wherever political winds blow him 鈥� he was a Republican governor, then an independent candidate for Senate, and now he鈥檚 seeking new life as a Democrat.

鈥淲hen fewer than four in 10 voters think both the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor are honest, you know this has been in state history," pollster Peter Brown said in a statement upon the release of a recent public opinion poll conducted by Quinnipiac University. "They have been throwing so much mud that they both are covered in it."

The September poll found 49 percent of likely voters saying Crist is not honest and trustworthy (versus 37 percent with a more charitable view), while Scott suffers from an almost identical verdict (51 to 39 percent) on that question.

Recent polls mostly show Crist with a small lead, but the race remains a tossup as ad spending soars well above $50 million.

罢丑别听聽over his personal finances was filed this week by George Sheldon, a Democrat seeking to be Florida鈥檚 next Attorney General.

The lawsuit alleges that, in violation of a 鈥淪unshine Amendment鈥� in the state constitution, Scott has not disclosed a full list of his assets worth more than $1,000.

鈥淩ick Scott has employed and聽managed a complex web of investment vehicles which appears to include at least six trusts, numerous partnerships, investment funds, and accounts,鈥� Mr. Sheldon says. Scott doesn鈥檛 include all these entities on his financial disclosure, Sheldon adds, so 鈥渋t is impossible to detect and evaluate the potential conflicts of interest that may exist or develop.鈥�

A recent Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times article also , and concluded his聽state disclosure forms differ substantially from financial information he provided to the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

And despite the name 鈥渂lind trust,鈥� the article also offered evidence that Scott is aware of at least some of the trust鈥檚 holdings, due to SEC-required signatures.

The Scott campaign, published by the Miami Herald, responded that 鈥渢he Governor is in full compliance with both federal and state reporting requirements, which are different.鈥�

In Scott鈥檚 favor, the Quinnipiac poll found that a sizable majority of likely voters (58 percent) see the governor as having strong leadership qualities, versus 46 percent who held that view on Crist.

Scott has also been presiding over an improving post-recession economy since he took office in 2011, with falling unemployment and a housing market recovery.

Far and away, voters鈥� top issue as they prepare to vote is the economy and jobs, according to released聽Thursday聽by the University of North Florida.