Florida Republicans are still in the dark on the GOP hopefuls running to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in 2016, a new poll shows.
St. Pete Polls took a poll for Saint Petersblog which was released on Wednesday evening showing a plurality of Florida Republicans--44 percent--are unsure of who they will back in the Senate primary.
U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., has the support of 21 percent of those surveyed while U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., pulls 18 percent. Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera takes 10 percent while businessman and Army veteran Todd Wilcox gets 8 percent.
The poll finds a solid majority of those surveyed aren’t sure what they think of the candidates. Two thirds of Florida Republicans--65 percent--are unsure about Jolly while 23 percent see him as favorable and 12 percent view him in an unfavorable light. DeSantis is seen as favorable by 21 percent, unfavorable by 11 percent while 68 percent are unsure about him. Lopez-Cantera is seen as favorable by 16 percent, unfavorable by 15 percent while 69 percent are not sure about him. The poll finds Wilcox is the least known candidate with 76 percent of those surveyed unsure about him while 14 percent see him as favorable and 10 percent view him unfavorably.
Jolly’s numbers are boosted by his taking 49 percent in his home base, the Tampa TV market. But two of the other candidates are also doing well on their home turf as DeSantis pulls 33 percent in the Jacksonville market while Lopez-Cantera gets 38 percent in the Miami area.
The poll of 2,694 Florida Republicans was taken from Dec. 14-Dec. 15 and had a margin of error of +/- 1.9 percent.
Rubio is currently for the Republican presidential nomination and has said he won't run for a second term in the Senate. Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and conservative leader Dan Bongino have opened the door to entering the Republican primary.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
