It seemed for a while that Charlie Crist's gamble by going Independent might have paid off as he lead many recent polls. However, Rasmussen Reports has released the first poll taking after Tuesday's primaries and it shows the now official Republican nominee Marco Rubio with a 10 percent lead, and only five percent of likely voters undecided. However, Crist is still viewed more favorably by Floridians.
In a poll of 750 "likely voters" taken yesterday, 40 percent say they'll vote for Rubio, 30 percent for Charlie Crist, and only 21 percent for Democrat Kendrick Meek. Four percent say they'll vote for "some other candidate" and only 5 percent say they're undecided.
Rasmussen, seen by some as a polling firm whose methods slightly favor Republicans, last showed Crist with a lead in a May 3 poll, and tied with Rubio in a June 7 poll. However, their numbers have fluctuated wildly.
However, the last available poll from Quinnipiac, taken between August 11 and 16, showed Crist with a 39 percent lead to Rubio's 32 and Meek's 16. Quinnipiac's poll has been consistent in the past few months in showing a Crist lead.
According to Rasmussen, Crist is still seen more favorably than the other candidates with 56 percent viewing him as either "very favorable" or "somewhat favorable." Rubio is viewed by 51 percent as favorable. Only 12 percent say they don't know that much about Meek to have an impression, which is surprising considering he was largely unknown outside his party in the past few months. The bad news is that more view him as unfavorable (47 percent) than favorable (41 percent).
