New Poll: Crist Ahead of Rubio, Scott Ahead of Sink, Sink Ahead of McCollum

A new pollreleased Tuesday by Reuters and Ipsos shows Gov. Charlie Crist leading the race for the U.S. Senate seat while Rick Scott is the favorite in the gubernatorial race.

The poll has independent candidate Crist at 35 percent while former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the likely Republican nominee, places second with 28 percent. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, who is facing a tough primary fight for the Democratic nomination from billionaire financier Jeff Greene, pulled 17 percent.

When Meek is replaced by Greene, Crist leads Rubio 34 percent to 29 percent.

The poll found that most Floridians approved of the way Crist was handling his current office -- with 53 percent approving of his job as governor and 41 percent disapproving.

Health-care executive Rick Scott, the Republican front-runner in the race, edges state CFO Alex Sink, the likely Democratic nominee, 34 percent to 31 percent with independent candidate Bud Chiles pulling 13 percent. Sinkenjoys a lead over Attorney General Bill McCollum, Scotts chief rival for the Republican nomination, 31 percent to 30 percent while Chiles again takes 13 percent.

The poll was of 600 registered voters in Florida and was taken from July 9 until July 11. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.