Melissa Ross
A new poll shows Donald Trump still leads among Florida’s Republican primary voters, taking 21 percent of the vote if the election were held today, with Ben Carson closing in at 19 percent.
The new University of North Florida statewide poll shows Marco Rubio coming in third with 14 percent and Jeb Bush at a distant fourth with 9 percent of the vote.
The school’s Public Opinion Research Laboratory conducted the telephone survey. Even though Carson is polling higher than Rubio overall, 20 percent of those called say Rubio is their second choice for president, followed by Carson, then Carly Fiorina, then Bush.
Trump continues to have the highest unfavorables of any candidate in the race, at nearly 40 percent, with only a 52 percent favorability rating. Contrast this with Rubio’s favorability rating – 81 percent – and Bush’s 64 percent.
And, according to the survey, Florida’s Republican primary likely voters think the economy, jobs and unemployment are the most important problem facing the United States today, followed by terrorism and immigration.
