Florida voters would favor Democrat Hillary Clinton by a wide margin over either former GOP Gov. Jeb Bush or Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in a presidential election if it were held today, according to new poll of state voters.
The Quinnipiac University survey of 1,000 registered state voters taken March 13-18 put the former secretary of state ahead of Bush by a 51 percent to 40 percent margin and ahead of Rubio by 52 percent to 41 percent.
“We probably won’t know for some time whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016. But if she decides to make the race, she begins with a sizable lead in a state that Republicans cannot win the White House without,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
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While Clinton, who has consistently proven to be the strongest potential candidate in Quinnipiac national polls, has a whopping 93 percent to 5 percent favorability rating among Democrats in Florida, she is also viewed favorably by a respectable 26 percent of Republican voters. Equally significant, she has a 57 percent to 35 percent favorability rating among independents.
Overall, Clinton was viewed more favorably by voters — 62 percent to 33 percent — than Bush and Rubio. Bush drew a 50 percent to 35 percent favorability rating, while Rubio received a 41 percent to 34 percent rating.
In additional findings, the poll also revealed overwhelming support among Florida voters for the idea of mandatory universal background checks on people who want to buy guns, with 91 percent to 8 percent in favor.
The survey also found that 51 percent of respondents favor tougher gun control laws, while 56 percent voiced support for a ban on military-style assault weapons.
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