A poll from the Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) at the University of North Florida (UNF) shows U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., ahead of U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., as he runs for a third term.
The poll shows Rubio with 46 percent while Demings takes 34 percent and 17 percent are not sure and 3 percent refused to answer.
“Rubio is up by 12 percentage points on Demings, some of which can probably be attributed to name recognition,” said Dr. Michael Binder, PORL faculty director and a professor of political science at UNF. “The 17 percent who don’t know are the ones to look out for in the coming months, as campaigning starts to ramp up for both candidates.”
Asked if they approve of Rubio, only 39 percent of those surveyed do while 40 percent disapprove of him and 22 percent are not sure. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., fared slightly worse in the poll with 37 percent approval, 40 percent disapproval and 23 percent not sure.
The poll of 685 registered Florida voters was taken from Feb. 7 through Feb. 20 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.74 percent.