Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has widened his lead in Florida over Sen. Marco Rubio one day before the state’s primary, according to a new survey released Monday.
According to the latest Monmouth poll, Trump leads Rubio by 17 points, scoring 44 percent of Floridians to Rubio’s 27 percent, which doubles his lead from their previous poll released last week. Support for Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich remains largely unchanged, with the pair receiving 17 percent and nine percent support, respectively.
Notably, Rubio only holds a slight advantage over the real estate mogul with minority voters, winning the support from 41 percent compared to Trump’s 35 percent — just a six point difference. Trump also beats Rubio in his backyard, winning South Florida with 37 percent support to Rubio’s 32 percent, while Trump holds large leads in the northern and central parts of the state.
Since Super Tuesday, Rubio has focused almost solely on winning Florida, having campaigned nonstop in the state in the meantime. Rubio has repeatedly predicted victory in his home state despite polls showing otherwise over the past two weeks.
The polls’ release comes only hours after the latest Quinnipiac poll showed Trump maintaining a large lead in the Sunshine State and holding a 24-point advantage with a day to go. Overall, Trump holds an 18 percent lead over the Florida senator, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average.
Florida is one of five states that take to the polls on Tuesday, along with Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri.
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