Congressman Connie Mack joined the race for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Florida only in late October, but he has a solid lead over all other announced candidates, a new Newsmax/InsiderAdvantage poll reveals.
In the survey of registered voters who will likely be casting ballots in Florida’s Republican primary in 2012, 25.6 percent said they preferred Mack, son of a former U.S. Senator from Florida, for the nomination to face incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson.
He easily beat out former U.S. Sen. George Lemieux, who garnered 12.9 percent of the vote. Lemieux was appointed in 2009 to finish the term of retiring Sen. Mel Martinez.
Close behind Lemieux was Craig Miller, former CEO of Ruth’s Chris Steak House and an unsuccessful 2010 candidate for the U.S. House, with 11.8 percent.
Mike McCalister, a businessman and university instructor who ran for Florida governor in 2010, got 5.4 percent, and former Florida State Rep. Adam Hasner got 2.3 percent.
But 6.2 percent of respondents said they preferred “someone else” than those five candidates, and 35.8 percent said they don’t know who they prefer at this point.
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