Connie Mack Routs GOP Rivals, Edges Bill Nelson in Q-Poll

A poll by Quinnipiac University released on Thursday morning shows that U.S. Rep. Connie Mack holds a commanding lead in the Republican primary to challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and holds a slight edge over that Democrat incumbent in a possible general election match-up.

Mack takes 42 percent in the poll of registered voters with Nelson right behind him at 41 percent. In a Quinnipiac poll taken at the end of March, Nelson led 44 percent while Mack followed with 36 percent.

The new poll shows that Nelson does much better against former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux who is also running for the Republican nomination. Nelson takes 43 percent while LeMieux garners 36 percent in that scenario.

While 41 percent of Republicans remain undecided, Mack has a clear lead in the primary with 40 percent. Retired Army officer and businessman Mike McCalister follows with 8 percent while LeMieux takes 7 percent. Former U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, who announced on Friday that he would run in the Republican primary, was not included in the poll.

"Although some activists have been critical of Congressman Connie Mack and his campaign, he retains an overwhelming lead in the race for the Republican Senate nomination and is tied with Senator Bill Nelson," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, on Thursday. "It is not clear how the late entrance of former Congressman Dave Weldon into the race will affect the campaign, but Mack's lead is pretty formidable with three months until the primary."

The poll of 1,722 registered Florida voters was taken from May 15-21 and had a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percent. This includes a sample of 742 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 3.6 percent.