A new poll shows a wide open Republican primary to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in 2016. Rubio is running for the Republican presidential nomination and has said he will not seek a second term in the Senate.
Mason-Dixon released a survey on Monday showing almost half of Florida Republicans -- 45 percent -- remain undecided on who they will back in the Senate primary.
Among the potential candidates, former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, who is still pondering getting in the race, is ahead with 22 percent, twice the amount of support of U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., his nearest rival at 11 percent. U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., takes third with 8 percent followed by Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Fla., with 7 percent. U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., who will make a decision in August on entering the fray, garners 6 percent while businessman Todd Wilcox pulls 1 percent.
Brad Coker from Mason-Dixon noted McCollum was well-known from his failed gubernatorial bid in 2010 and efforts to get elected to the Senate in 2000 and 2004.
“On the Republican side, McCollum would, in fact, start at the head of the pack," Coker insisted. “However, he would get the immediate support of only 22 percent of GOP voters. Given his history of losing early leads in several previous statewide races, that number would not be daunting enough to scare away any rivals.”
When McCollum is taken out of the mix, a clear majority of those surveyed -- 55 percent -- are undecided. Jolly moves up to first with 16 percent followed by Lopez-Cantera at 10 percent, DeSantis with 9 percent and Miller with 8 percent. Wilcox trails with 2 percent.
The poll of 500 Florida Republicans was taken from July 20-24 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
Comments
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