Florida Republicans are closely divided between two favorite sons running for the GOP’s presidential nomination, a new poll finds.
Quinnipiac University released a poll Thursday morning showing former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., running neck and neck in their home turf. Bush leads the poll with 20 percent followed by Rubio at 18 percent.
"Gov. Bush, the former mentor, and Sen. Rubio, the former protege are fighting it out among Sunshine State Republicans,” noted Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll. “Will any other Republican make a strong effort in the state's mid-March primary, given the hometown advantage enjoyed by the two leaders and the huge amount of money needed to make a competitive effort in the state?"
The other candidates are all in single digits. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin takes third with 9 percent followed by Dr. Ben Carson with 7 percent. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who moved to Florida after his 2008 presidential bid, pulls 6 percent, followed by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., with 5 percent and former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas with 4 percent.
Businessman Donald Trump, who entered the race earlier this week, takes 3 percent, as does Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey. Two candidates -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and businesswoman Carly Fiorina -- pull 2 percent each. Five candidates -- U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, former Gov. George Pataki of New York and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. -- take 1 percent apiece.
Florida Republicans generally have high opinions of the leading candidates. Rubio is seen as favorable by 75 percent of those surveyed while only 9 percent view him unfavorably. Bush also does well with 68 percent seeing him in a favorable light while 18 percent see him as unfavorable. Huckabee also gets good marks with 65 percent viewing him as favorable while 20 percent see him as unfavorable.
While not as well known, Walker and Carson are in good shape with Florida Republicans. Walker is seen as favorable by 59 percent and unfavorable by 8 percent. Carson is viewed as favorable by 54 percent and unfavorable by 7 percent.
Perry is seen as favorable by half of those surveyed -- 50 percent -- while 22 percent see him as unfavorable. Paul does slightly worse with 50 percent seeing him as favorable and 26 percent as unfavorable. Almost half -- 49 percent -- of Florida Republicans see Cruz as favorable, while 16 percent see him as unfavorable. Santorum is seen as favorable by 47 percent, unfavorable by 22 percent.
Christie is in far worse shape with 45 percent seeing him as favorable but more than a third of Florida Republicans -- 35 percent -- seeing him as unfavorable. Trump is upside-down with only 30 percent seeing him as favorable while a majority of those surveyed -- 51 percent -- see him as unfavorable.
The other candidates are largely unknown. Jindal is seen as favorable by 44 percent, unfavorable by 12 percent, while 43 percent haven’t heard enough about him. More than half -- 55 percent -- of Florida Republicans haven’t heard enough about Fiorina but she is seen as favorable by 37 percent and unfavorable by 8 percent. Kasich is also largely unknown with 59 percent not having heard enough about him while 31 percent view him as favorable and 10 percent see him in an unfavorable light. Almost half -- 46 percent -- haven’t heard enough about Graham, while 28 percent see him as favorable and 23 percent view him as unfavorable. Despite his three terms as governor of one of the largest states, Pataki is the most unknown candidate with 66 percent saying they haven’t heard enough about him while 19 percent see him as favorable and 15 percent as unfavorable.
The poll of 458 Florida Republican voters was taken from June 4-15 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.6 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
