Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Sen. Marco Rubio holds a seven-point lead over Rep. Patrick Murphy, according to a new poll from Mason-Dixon Polling.
The survey, released Monday morning, showed 47 percent of likely voters said they backed Rubio, compared to 40 percent who picked Murphy. Five percent of respondents said they would vote for Libertarian Paul Stanton, while 6 percent said they were undecided.
Rubio’s lead has widened since the last Mason-Dixon poll. In August, before the U.S. Senate primary, Rubio led Murphy 46 percent to 43 percent.
The most recent poll was conducted from Sept. 27 through Sept. 29. The poll included 820 likely Florida voters and has a margin of error of 3.5 percent.
Rubio leads Murphy in most regions of the state. In Central Florida, 51 percent of respondents said they supported Rubio, while 32 percent backed Murphy. Rubio also leads in Tampa Bay, where 46 percent of respondents said they supported Rubio compared to 40 percent who backed Murphy.
Murphy saw strong support in Southeast Florida, with 53 percent of respondents saying the supported the Treasure Coast Democrat. Thirty-seven percent of respondents from Southeast Florida said they backed Rubio.
The survey found 46 percent of independent voters backed Rubio, while 38 percent backed Murphy. Rubio also carries a larger share of Hispanic voters, with 53 percent saying they supported Rubio. The survey found 38 percent of Hispanic voters said they were backing Murphy.
And with just a few weeks until Election Day, Floridians still don’t appear to have strong opinions about Murphy. The survey found 33 percent of respondents said they recognized his name, but didn’t express an opinion of him. A quarter (25 percent) of respondents had an unfavorable view, while 27 percent had a favorable opinion of him.
Forty-five percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of Rubio, while 34 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion.
