Florida Post-Primary Poll Has Pro-Life Rubio Leading Pro-Abortion Meek, Crist
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 26, 2010
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) — The first poll in the competitive Florida Senate race following Tuesday’s primary election shows pro-life GOP candidate Marco Rubio leading pro-abortion independent Charlie Crist and pro-abortion Democrat Kendrick Meek. The race could wind up determining whether abortion advocates control the Senate.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Florida shows Rubio attracting 40% of the vote, while Governor Crist picks up 30% in the race to become the state’s next U.S. senator.
The new Democratic nominee Meek, a pro-abortion congressman, gets the support of 21 percent. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.
In the last survey before the primary, it was Rubio at 38%, Crist at 33% and Meek 21% — showing Rubio has cut into the support Crist is getting from independents and moderate Republicans.
Seventy-six percent (76%) of Rubio supporters say they are certain of how they will vote and that they won’t change their mind before Election Day. Just 48% of Meek’s voters say the same, while 45% of Crist supporters are that certain.
"This suggests that the race could follow the typical pattern of three-way races with either Meek or Crist slipping out of contention and watching their support drift to the other," Rasmussen said.
"Meek supporters who might switch their vote are overwhelmingly considering Crist as their option. Among Crist supporters, most would consider changing to Meek," Rasmussen continues. "However, more than a third say they might switch to Rubio. This is not surprising given that 37% of current Crist supporters disapprove of the way President Obama is doing his job."
Overall, Rubio gets 73% of the Republican vote, and Crist draws 19% support from his old party. Meek earns 41% support in his own party, while Crist picks up 36% of the Democratic vote. Among voters not affiliated with either party, Crist has a nine-point edge over Rubio.
With the results of this new survey, Rasmussen is now moving the Florida Senate race into the leans Republican from the tossup category with pollster Scott Rasmussen having more confidence Rubio can pull out a victory.
Crist must capture all of the undecided vote in order to close the gap with Rubio as it is difficult to see how Meek’s standing could go lower unless Democrats rally hard around Crist or ask Meek to drop out of the campaign.
And efforts to woo Democrats could persuade moderate Republicans and independents to support Rubio.
Crist, who upset pro-life advocates by vetoing a bill that would have helped women by allowing them to see an ultrasound of their unborn baby before an abortion, will not enjoy support from the pro-life movement in the race.
Rubio criticized Crist for the veto of the pro-life bill, saying “Once again, Charlie Crist has put politics ahead of principled policy-making. Not only would this commonsense measure have provided women with vital information as they make a critical decision, but now Governor Crist’s veto also clears the way for taxpayer funding of abortion in Florida."
"This veto will now make it harder for Florida to fight Obamacare, since the bill would have enabled our state to opt out of the abortion coverage mandate in the federal health care law," he added.
“Even those who agree with the outcome of the Governor’s decision should be alarmed that an issue as serious and deserving of sober deliberation as this one was treated in such a calculating, political manner. Florida deserves a U.S. senator who will think issues through and let principles, not the politics of the moment, guide their decisions. Not surprisingly, his latest decision is only the latest in a long litany of examples in which Charlie Crist has broken his word to Floridians," Rubio said.
Crist has also come under fire for removing the section of his web site supposedly touting his pro-life credentials.
Related web sites:
Florida Right to Life – https://frtl.homestead.com
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