Marco Rubio at 48%, Patrick Murphy at 44% in new Quinnipiac University poll

FILE- In this Aug. 30, 2016 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks at a primary election party, in Kissimmee, Fla. Patrick Murphy, a Democratic congressman with little name recognition, is struggling to stop Sen. Marco Rubio from being re-elected. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

The race for the U.S. Senate is close, with just four percentage points separating Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Patrick Murphy.

A new Quinnipiac University poll found Rubio has a slight edge over Murphy, with 48 percent of voters backing the Miami Republican. The survey found 44 percent of respondents said they were supporting Murphy.

“Sen. Marco Rubio has led in the polls for re-election since he changed his mind and decided to seek a second term,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, in a statement. “But his margin over U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, the Democratic challenger, has never been large enough to make Sen. Rubio comfortable.”

Rubio’s lead over Murphy narrowed since Quinnipiac’s last U.S. Senate poll. That survey, released in early September, showed Rubio at 50 percent and Murphy at 43 percent.

The latest poll showed Rubio leads among independent voters, 52 percent to 41 percent. He also leads among male voters, 59 percent to 30 percent, and white voters. Among white voters with a college degree, Rubio leads Murphy 54 percent to 38 percent. He also leads the Treasure Coast Democrat among white voters without a college degree, 61 percent to 36 percent.

“It looks like the battle to control the U.S. Senate will go down to the campaign’s final days,” said Brown in a memo, noting races in Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania could be key to deciding which party will control the Senate.

According to a Real Clear Politics average of polls, Rubio has a lead of 5.2 points over Murphy. The website has ranked the state’s U.S. Senate race as a “toss-up.” While the Quinnipiac University poll didn’t include a breakdown of demographics, its results are similar to other polls released recently. According to the Miami Herald, a new poll from Associated Industries of Florida showed Rubio was leading Murphy, 48 percent to 39 percent among likely Hispanic voters.

The survey of 545 likely Florida voters was conducted from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2. It has a margin of error of 4.2 percent.