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Republican Marco Rubio is 7 points ahead of Democrat Val Demings in his quest for a third term in the U.S. Senate representing Florida in the November elections, according to a poll published Wednesday.
The politician, of Cuban origin, leads the voting intention, with 49%, to 42% of the Democratic congresswoman, his presumed rival in the elections, according to a poll by the Mason-Dixon firm.
The survey shows the trend already reflected by others conducted in recent months, and, according to the RealClear Politics portal, which averages polls of voting intentions, the Republican’s advantage would be 8.3 percentage points.
Marco Rubio, who was a contender to be the Republican candidate for the White House in the 2016 elections, has held the seat in the Upper House since 2010, while Demings has been a congressman for Florida since 2017.
The outcome of the Senate elections may be vital for the development of President Joe Biden’s term, as it is currently split 50/50 between Republicans and Democrats, although the Speaker of the Upper House is the Vice President, Kamala Harris, who has the ability to resolve ties.
However, a shift in favor of conservatives in this balance after the elections for the 34 of the 100 seats up for grabs in November could greatly hamper the ability of Biden and the Democrats to move their legislative measures forward.
Today’s poll again shows Floridians’ favoritism for conservatives, after the same firm said Tuesday that state Gov. Ron DeSantis would win re-election by beating his three likely Democratic challengers.
The Republican currently has 51% of voting intention, or more, in case of an electoral contest against Congressman Charlie Crist, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried or State Senator Annette Taddeo.
Rubio is the preferred candidate among men and white voters (with 58% to Demings’ 35%, both), and among Hispanic voters (44% to 39%).
The Republican leads in almost the entire state, except precisely in southeast Florida, where the Cuban-born politician is from.
On the other hand, Demings is the most named candidate among black voters, like her, (82 % to Rubio’s 7 %) and women (48-41 %).
The Mason-Dixon poll of voting preferences between Rubio and Demings was conducted by telephone with 625 registered voters and has a 4-point margin of error.
