At a time when Sen. Marco Rubio’s national profile continues to grow, a poll released Thursday found the Florida Republican’s standing at home has slipped in recent months.
The poll from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling showed Rubio with an approval rating that’s barely above water. Forty-four percent of Florida voters approve of the job their junior senator and potential 2016 contender is doing, while 43 percent disapprove.
It marks a notable drop from Rubio in the Sunshine State since PPP’s previous survey there in January. At that time, Rubio boasted a strong approval rating: 49 percent of Florida voters approved, while 36 percent said they disapproved.
PPP also showed Hillary Clinton trouncing Rubio in a hypothetical presidential matchup in Florida 56 percent to 40 percent. A poll from Quinnipiac University released earlier in the day showed the former secretary of state holding a comfortable lead in Florida over Rubio in a 2016 hypothetical matchup. In fact, PPP found that 53 percent of Florida voters don’t want Rubio to run in 2016.
It should be noted, however, that another survey from Quinnipiac earlier this week showed Rubio with a much stronger approval rating than PPP. In that poll, 48 percent said they approve of Rubio while 33 percent said they disapprove. The PollTracker Average currently mirrors PPP’s findings, but it provides a glimpse of the generally strong popularity Rubio has maintained at home since taking office in 2011.
