Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s apparent decision to speed up his entry into the growing field of 2016 Republican presidential primary challengers is coming at the perfect time, as a new poll out Friday shows him moving into second place behind repeat candidate Mitt Romney.

What’s more, the gap in the new Zogby Analytics poll is tiny, just three percentage points. And Rubio, the freshest hopeful to show a determined interest in the race, is also tied with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.