Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., has a comfortable lead over his potential Republican primary rivals in his home state of Florida, a new poll shows.
Quinnipiac University released a poll of Florida Republicans on Wednesday morning which shows Bush ahead of his rivals. Bush takes 32 percent in the poll followed by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., with 15 percent. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., who moved to the Sunshine State after his 2008 presidential bid, takes third with 11 percent.
Other candidates are in single digits. Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., garners 9 percent. Dr. Ben Carson is right behind Walker with 8 percent. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, takes 4 percent while a host of candidates -- Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.; Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.; U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.; and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. -- are knotted together with 3 percent each. Former Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, lags behind with 1 percent.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush's home state lead among Republicans is impressive, said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, on Wednesday. With U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio getting 15 percent, almost half the Florida GOP electorate backs a home state candidate. If Rubio, who has yet to make up his mind, decides not to run, that would give Bush a huge leg up in the nation's most populous swing state. If Rubio does run it will set up a home state battle between a mentor, Bush, and his protege Rubio.
Bush is in excellent shape with Florida Republicans, the poll finds. More than three-quarters -- 76 percent -- of Florida Republicans surveyed see Bush as favorable while 15 percent view him as unfavorable. But Rubio is also in strong shape, with 69 percent of Florida Republicans seeing their junior senator in a favorable light while 15 percent view him as unfavorable.
Huckabee is also well-regarded by Florida Republicans, with 62 percent seeing him as favorable and 18 percent viewing him as unfavorable. Paul is less known, but a majority -- 53 percent -- of Florida Republicans view him as favorable while 14 percent see him as unfavorable. Christie does far worse, with 39 percent of Florida Republicans seeing him as favorable while 33 percent see him as unfavorable.
The poll of 348 Florida Republicans was taken from Jan. 22-Feb. 1 and had a margin of error of +/- 5.3 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
