The state's consumer confidence went down slightly from September to October, due in part to volatility in the stock market, according to a University of Florida report released Tuesday.

The results of the governor's race, regardless of the outcome, might keep the index from significant growth over the next month, the author of the report noted.

On a scale of 2 to 150, confidence among Floridians is now at 82, a point lower than in September, which was the highest mark since April 2007, according to a release from UF's Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

"There are several factors driving stocks right now, including declining global markets, expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, and even the potential economic effects — whether justified or not — from Ebola," Chris McCarty, director of the research center, said in a prepared statement.

Similar to how the state's unemployment rate has held relatively steady for most of the year, the consumer confidence mark has spent most of the year in the high 70s and low 80s. Still, the decline was the first for the index since May.

McCarty said the October drop isn't considered significant, but added that there are few indicators that the index could rise much in November.

"In addition to a struggling global market we have the election for governor," McCarty said. "Most polls show a very close race and as is typical after such elections about half of the electorate will not be happy with the outcome, which often shows up in the sentiment index for that month.

"This will not last and will not affect holiday sales which are expected to be better than last year."