Businessman Donald Trump is now beating former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., in his Sunshine State hometurf while Dr. Ben Carson has moved up to catch U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for third, a new poll shows.
Trump leads a new poll of Florida Republicans from Quinnipiac University released on Thursday with 21 percent. Bush takes second with 17 percent. Rubio and Carson are knotted together in third with 11 percent each.
Businesswoman Carly Fiorina is also moving up in Florida after a strong debate performance earlier this month. She ties with U.S. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for fifth place with 7 percent apiece.
A crowd of candidates have less than 5 percent in Florida. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., take 4 percent each followed by Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, with 3 percent. Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., and Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., take 1 percent each. The following candidates pull less than 1 percent: former Gov. Jim Gilmore, R-Va., U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., former Gov. George Pataki, R-N.Y., former Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.
Asked who they will not vote for, 29 percent of Florida Republicans said Trump and 17 percent of them said Bush. Another 17 percent refused to back Paul and 16 percent ruled out voting for Christie. While 11 percent say they won’t vote for Pataki, 10 percent say that about Graham. Fiorina does the best on this front with only 4 percent ruling out voting for her, but Carson, Cruz and Walker also do well here with only 5 percent ruling out voting for those candidates.
Trump is seen as favorable by a solid majority -- 55 percent -- of Florida Republicans but he also has some of the highest negatives in the field with 30 percent viewing him unfavorably
While he might be in third, Rubio is in strong shape with Florida Republicans with 87 percent of them seeing him as favorable and only 8 percent viewing him as unfavorable. Bush does slightly worse on their home base while 81 percent of Florida Republicans see him as favorable but 15 percent view him in an unfavorable light.
Huckabee also does well, with 70 percent seeing him as favorable and 15 percent viewing him as unfavorable. Carson continues to impress Florida Republicans with only 5 percent viewing him as unfavorable and 61 percent seeing him in a favorable light. Fiorinia is also leaving a good impression, with 57 percent of Florida Republicans seeing her as favorable while only 4 percent view her as unfavorable.
While he is not at the top of the polls, Florida Republicans like Walker -- with 59 percent viewing him as favorable and 10 percent seeing him unfavorably. Kasich is less well-known but in strong shape with only 4 percent seeing him as unfavorable while 48 percent see him favorably.
Cruz is in solid shape in Florida with 56 percent seeing him as favorable while 14 percent view him unfavorably. While he is lagging behind the other candidates, Perry is also seen as favorable by 56 percent but 22 percent see him unfavorably.
Christie is seen as favorable by 52 percent but 30 percent view him unfavorably, the same as Trump. Jindal is not as well-known but 45 percent of Florida Republicans view him favorably while 11 percent see him in an unfavorable light. While he is not factoring in the polls, Santorum is seen as favorable by 45 percent while 21 percent see him unfavorably.
Florida Republicans are starting to turn on Paul. While 38 percent see him favorably, a third of Florida Republicans -- 33 percent -- see Paul as unfavorable, the highest of any of the Republican candidates.
Pataki is treading water but, despite his three terms as governor of one of the largest states in the nation, remains largely unknown. Pataki is seen as favorable by 18 percent and unfavorable by 17 percent. Gilmore is even more unknown with only 6 percent seeing the former Virginia governor and RNC chairman as favorable while the same percentage sees him as unfavorable.
Graham is upside down with Florida Republicans. Only 26 percent see him as favorable while 29 percent view him as unfavorable.
The poll of 477 Florida Republicans was taken from Aug. 7-18 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
