Conservative fans of former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio may feel a bit let down by today’s AIF/Zogby poll, but it’s actually pretty good news. As yesterday’s Rasmussen poll suggests, Rubio is closing the gap against Gov. Charlie Crist for next year’s GOP nomination for the state’s open Senate seat. In this poll, Rubio trails by nine points, 45 to 36 percent. That’s less impressive than the tie score in the Rasmussen poll, but it’s not bad. The primary election won’t be held until next August 24. That’s plenty of time to make up a nine-point deficit and overcome the better-known Crist.
Meanwhile, Rubio has already shattered the air of inevitability in Crist’s nomination. And Rasmussen’s numbers yesterday bolster the common wisdom that either Republican has an excellent chance of winning the seat, which Sen. Mel Martinez, R, vacated in September.
