U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., starts his bid for a third term ahead of U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., a new poll shows.
Mason Dixon released a poll on Wednesday morning which shows Rubio backed by 49 percent of those surveyed while 42 percent support Demings and 9 percent are undecided.
“An incumbent running below 50 percent often leaves the door open for a challenger to significantly tighten a race under the right circumstances,” noted Mason Dixon. “Party registered voters appear to be dug in along partisan lines and recent elections suggest that pattern is likely to hold. The key for Demings to pull off an upset will be the ability to attract more unaffiliated voters. Right now, independents are backing Rubio by 10-points (47 percent-37 percent).”
Rubio is seen as favorable by 44 percent while 37 percent see him as unfavorable and 14 percent are neutral about him and 5 percent do not know who he is. Demings is far less known with 32 percent not knowing who she is and 30 percent neutral on her while 27 percent view her favorably and 11 percent see her as unfavorable.
President Joe Biden is not helping Demings, the poll shows. Only 40 percent of those surveyed view him favorably while 55 percent see him as unfavorable and 5 percent are not sure.
The poll of 625 registered voters across Florida was taken from Feb. 7 through Feb. 10 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
