Gloves are off in the race for Florida governor. The three top candidates for the office met with reporters in Tallahassee Wednesday, and all took verbal shots at their competitors. The comments came a day before a prominent poll was released in the governor’s race.Gov. Rick Scott was the first speaker at the annual meeting hosted by the Associated Press. He announced his fourth budget recommendation as governor.

“This budget also reserves funds and pays back money the previous administration raided from the budget stabilization fund,” Scott said.

The previous governor was then-Republican Charlie Crist, who now wants his old job back as a Democrat. Scott took jabs but never mentioned Crist by name.

“We have cut taxes dozens of times," Scott said, "but the previous four budgets raised taxes by more than two billion dollars.”

Crist criticized Scott for cutting education funding as soon as he took office.

"Now he’s trying to make up for it, you know, in an election year transformation," Crist said. "I don’t believe Florida’s gonna get fooled a second time.”

Crist also called out Scott for his leadership of the Columbia/HCA hospital chain.

Scott had already left the firm when it paid a 1.7 billion dollar settlement for Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

Former state Senator Nan Rich, a Democrat from Weston, says Scott and Crist had their chance to lead and failed. She encouraged reporters not to count her out as the next governor.

“Who will lead the state for the next four years?" Rich asked the audience. "Although some I think in the media have already decided who that person might be, the voters will get the last word.”

A new survey of registered voters by Quinnipiac University shows Crist with an 8 point lead over Scott in a head to head race, while Rich is trailing Scott by four points.