Poll: Crist frontrunner for Florida Senate nomination
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/07/04/art.crist.gi.jpg caption="Crist is enjoying strong approval ratings despite the poor economic conditions in his home state of Florida."](CNN) - A new poll indicates Florida Gov. Charlie Crist would be the immediate frontrunner for the Republican nomination should he decide to run for Senate in 2010.
If Crist were to jump into an already crowded Republican primary, a Quinnipiac poll suggests he would immediately freeze out the competition. In a hypothetical match-up, Crist leads his next closest GOP rival - Rep. Connie Mack IV - by a 53 to 13 percent margin.
Others mulling a Senate bid, including former Florida House speaker Marco Rubio and Rep. Vern Buchanan, each garner five percent or less in a race with Crist.
Crist can also count on job security if he opts to remain in Tallahassee instead: if he were to stay out of the Senate battle and seek the governorship once again, nearly 60 percent of voters say he deserves another term. Voters also want him to stay. A plurality believe Crist should seek re-election as governor and not run for Senate.
Crist is buoyed by a 68 percent approval rating among voters, which includes the support of 65 percent of Democrats. And although Crist angered some within his party for his vocal support of President Obama’s stimulus package, he retains the support of 77 percent of Republican voters.
The poll hints that Democrats will face an uphill battle in the Senate race no matter who wins the Republican nomination: Among the many Democrats seeking the seat, none appear to be well-known among voters statewide.
The Quinnipiac poll of 1,001 Florida voters was conducted February 11-16 and has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.
Connie Mack IV is cashing in on his father's name recognition. If Crist runs he's unbeatable by anyone because he's a centrist Repug not a nasty back-biting hypocritical Repug like the ones in Congress. However, I can never forgive Crist for endorsing McCain. The problem is Crist can't get the do-nothing Repugs to listen to him when he says the stimulus bill is good.