The new Quinnipiac poll of the Florida Senate race shows Gov. Charlie Crist, who switched from Republican to independent in April, continuing to lead Republican rival Marco Rubio — and it also shows Rep. Kendrick Meek, the likely Democratic nominee, continuing to slide.
The numbers: Crist 37%, Rubio 33%, Meek 17%. The survey of registered voters has a ±2.9% margin of error. In mid-April, before Crist’s switch became official, he led a three-way race with 32% of the vote, followed by Rubio at 30% and Meek with 24%. The TPM Poll Average has Crist 35.8%, Rubio 34.7%, and Meek 15.3%.
In the new poll, Crist is winning 51% of independent voters, with Rubio at 26% and Meek at 10%. Among Democratic voters, Meek has a narrow plurality over Crist of 44%-37%, with Rubio at 7%. Among Republicans, Rubio has 64%, Crist 28%, and Meek 2%.
From the pollster’s analysis: “With Rubio getting two-thirds of the Republican vote, the fate of Gov. Crist, who switched from a Republican to independent six weeks ago, depends heavily on his ability to appeal to Democratic voters.”