Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Marco Rubio could face a tough general election were he to decide to run for re-election this year.
According to a new Public Policy Polling survey, 51 percent of voters polled said they do not think Rubio should run for re-election this year. Another 39 percent said Rubio should run; while 10 percent they were unsure.
The survey found 58 percent of voters who identified as Republicans thought he should run for the Senate. The survey found he would have support from people who identified as either somewhat or very conservative in a re-election bid.
Rubio, who ended his 2016 presidential bid in March, has said he would not seek another term in the U.S. Senate. However, several top-ranking Republicans have been urging him to run for re-election. The deadline to qualify for the seat in June 24.
The survey of 737 registered voters found 54 percent of respondents said they disapproved of Rubio’s performance. Thirty-two percent of respondents said they approved of his job performance; while 14 percent said they weren’t sure.
In a hypothetical general election match-up, Rubio received 43 percent to Democrat Patrick Murphy’s 44 percent. The survey found Rubio would defeat Democrat Alan Grayson in a hypothetical match-up, 43 percent to 38 percent.
“Marco Rubio’s image in Florida continues to be badly damaged in the wake of his failed presidential bid,” said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. “If he runs for the Senate, there’s a pretty good chance he’s going to suffer two political defeats in one year.”
But a re-election bid seems more unlikely each day. Rubio has made fundraising calls in the past for his friend Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who is one of five Republicans running for the seat, and is set to attend a fundraiser for the lieutenant governor on June 24 in Miami.
Lopez-Cantera faces Ron DeSantis, David Jolly, Carlos Beruff and Todd Wilcox in the Aug. 30 Republican primary.
The survey of 737 registered voters was conducted from June 2 until June 5. It has a margin of error of 3.6 percent.
