It’s no secret that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is considering dropping out of his Republican Senate primary fight with Marco Rubio to launch run as an independent. A Rasmussen poll out this morning may move him closer to jumping ship from the GOP.
Though the poll shows an independent Crist running behind Rubio (and ahead of likely Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek), it also shows an independent Crist has something the Republican Crist has been lacking for months — momentum.
The new poll shows Rubio with 37%, Crist with 30% and Meek with 22% in a three-way matchup. The margin of error is 4.5.
The new Rasmussen numbers shows that Crist is actually gaining ground on Rubio as an independent. A March Rasmussen poll of a three-way Florida Senate race showed an independent Crist running third amongst the three candidates, and 17 points behind Rubio as the Republican nominee.
Crist hasn’t seen his poll numbers move in that direction against Rubio for quite a while.
What’s more, a widely reported Quinnipiac poll from last week actually showed Crist ahead in a three-way contest, adding to the evidence that leaving the GOP could be a smart move for him.
