Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., has emerged as the main competition to former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in their home state of Florida in next years presidential primary.
Quinnipiac University released a poll on Thursday showing Walker on the move in the Sunshine State. Bush leads the pack with 24 percent but Walker places second with 15 percent.
"Gov. Scott Walker continues to be the surprise in the early part of the 2016 campaign, said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll which also looked at Ohio and Pennsylvania where Bush is not running well. We've got a long way to go till Iowans caucus next winter, but the Wisconsin governor has climbed into the first tier of contenders along with establishment favorite Jeb Bush, who can't be happy with his numbers today.
Rubio placed third in Florida with 12 percent followed by Dr. Ben Carson with 8 percent and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, with 7 percent. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., who moved to Florida after his 2008 presidential campaign, pulls 6 percent followed by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., with 4 percent and former Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, with 2 percent. Two sitting Republican governors -- Chris Christie of New Jersey and John Kasich of Ohio -- take 1 percent each. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.. Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., take less than 1 percent each.
When Bush is taken out of the equation, Rubio moves to the front with 21 percent followed by Walker with 17 percent. Carson takes third in that scenario with 9 percent followed by Cruz with 8 percent, Paul with 7 percent and Huckabee with 6 percent. Christie and Perry move up to 3 percent each while Graham, Jindal and Kasich take 1 percent apiece and Santorum trails with less than 1 percent.
If Walker is out of the mix, Bush leads with 26 percent followed by Rubio with 15 percent and Cruz and Carson tied in third with 10 percent each. Huckabee gets 6 percent, Paul claims 5 percent and Perry takes 3 percent. Jindal and Christie garner 2 percent each in this scenario followed by Kasich with 1 percent and Graham and Santorum lag with less than 1 percent each.
The poll shows most Florida Republicans like the potential presidential candidates. Rubio is seen as favorable by 72 percent of Florida Republicans while only 10 percent see him as unfavorable. Bush is seen in a favorable light by 70 percent while 22 percent see him as unfavorable. Huckabee also gets high marks, with 59 percent seeing him in a favorable light while 14 percent see him as unfavorable.
Walker is less known but has clearly made a favorable impression on Florida Republicans. Only 4 percent see the Wisconsin governor as unfavorable while 52 percent see him as favorable. Half of those surveyed -- 50 percent -- see Cruz and Paul as favorable. Paul is seen as unfavorable by 16 percent while 14 percent see Cruz in an unfavorable light.
Christie gets the worst marks with 35 percent seeing him as unfavorable while 41 percent see him as favorable.
The poll of 428 Florida Republicans was taken from from March 17-28 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.7 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
