Florida’s voters are almost evenly divided over whether Gov. Charlie Crist should stay in the GOP Senate primary or break up with the party and run as an independent candidate, a Rasmussen Reports survey released today shows.
A small plurality, 37%, say Crist should launch an independent campaign for Senate while 30% disagree and 33% aren’t sure, according to the poll. In the general election, both Crist and GOP frontrunner Marco Rubio are ahead of Democrat Kendrick Meek.
The poll, available here, also finds Rubio would capture 37% of the vote, compared to 30% for Crist and 22% for Meek in a hypothetical three-way race.
Crist has been lagging behind Rubio in polls for the Aug. 24 primary for weeks and is considering an independent run. Meanwhile, a parade of Republicans are lining up behind Rubio, including, as of today, former vice president Dick Cheney.
