Shock Poll Shows Rubio Down By Four Points to Demings While DeSantis Charges to Reelection

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A new poll from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab found Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) beating Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the November election for Rubio’s U.S. Senate seat.

The surprise result is underpinned by the fact that the poll shows Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) heavily beating both of his potential challengers.

Demings leads Rubio by a margin of 48 to 44 percent, while 7 percent of voters said they would support another candidate. DeSantis, meanwhile, sits at 50 percent support against both Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried and Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL).

Florida’s Democratic primary will be held on August 23rd and while Demings is the heavy favorite in her primary, the race between Crist and Fried remains less certain – although Crist has consistently led in the polls. The poll found Fried leading Christ 47 to 43 percent.

Against DeSantis, Fried wins 43 percent of the vote, while Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida, wins some 42 percent of the vote.

Rubio’s weakened stance in the poll appears to be coming from his support among Florida’s Republican voters. Rubio receives 89 percent of GOP support in his bid against Demings, while she receives 94 percent support from Democrats.

Demings also leads among unaffiliated voters with 46 percent support, compared to Rubio’s 36 percent.

Rubio’s Senate seat becoming competitive would increase the Democrat’s chances of retaining or increasing their majority in the 50-50 U.S. Senate.

The poll also found that President Joe Biden has a 38 percent approval rating in the state.

The poll carries a margin of error of 3.4 percent and was conducted between August 8th and the 12th among 1,624 registered voters. The survey for the Florida Senate race was among 1,534 registered voters.

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com