Florida Senate: Rubio 39%, Crist 31%, Meek 18%

From Rasmussen Reports on May 17:

Charlie Crist received a bounce in the polls when he left the Republican Party to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent. New numbers suggest that the bounce for the governor is over.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Florida finds Republican Marco Rubio with 39% support, while Crist earns 31% of the vote and Democrat Kendrick Meek trails at 18%. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided.

Two weeks ago, just after Crist announced that he was running as an independent, he held a 38% to 34% advantage over Rubio.

The latest numbers parallel the findings in April two weeks before Crist announced he was quitting the Republican Primary race.

Crist, whose numbers had been in freefall in his primary match-up with Rubio, has been actively courting Democrats. But Meek now edges Crist among Democratic voters after trailing him two weeks ago.

Among Republicans, Crist’s support has dropped from 30% two weeks ago to 23% now. Rubio, the Cuban-American former speaker of the state House, earns 68% of Republicans, up 10 points from the previous survey.

Crist’s lead over Rubio among voters not affiliated with either party has narrowed as well, from 12 points early in the month to three points now.

Rubio has a two-to-one lead among male voters over both Crist and Meek. Crist has a small lead over Rubio among female voters.

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