Real-estate magnate Donald Trump enjoys an advantage of 23 percentage points over Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the latter’s home state of Florida, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.
The poll showed support for Trump at 45 percent in the state, while Rubio took just 22 percent. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) stood at 18 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) took 8 percent.
This indicates a small increase in Trump’s lead since the previous iteration of the same poll last month, when Trump beat Rubio 44 percent to 28 percent. Moreover, Cruz has gained on Rubio since February’s poll, rising 6 percentage points from 12 percent.
These results are consistent with most Florida polling, which has shown Trump beating Rubio, often by fifteen percentage points or more, in a state which Rubio himself has characterized as a crucial battleground in the Republican primary contest.
TPM’s PollTracker Average shows Trump at 41.1 percent in the state, followed by Rubio at 26.9 percent, Ted Cruz at 16.3 percent and Kasich at 9 percent.
From March 2-7, pollsters surveyed 657 people in Florida likely to vote in the Republican primary, with a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.
