A new poll shows that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is tied for fourth in his home state, and that he’d still be in fourth place even if his homestate rival Sen. Marco Rubio were to drop out of the race for the White House.
A Viewpoints Florida survey released Monday said Donald Trump is dominating Florida’s two major candidates in the 2016 race for the White House, and leads with 27 percent. In a distant second is Rubio with 16 percent, and Ben Carson is third with 15 percent.
Bush and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are tied for fourth at 12 percent.
Without Rubio in the race, Bush would see his numbers rise to 17 percent. But that would still leave him in fourth behind Trump, Carson and Cruz.
Bush’s campaign has been sputtering of late, and he’s had to suspend pay for some of his campaign staff, prompting speculation he may soon drop out. The survey showed that at least in recent weeks, Florida Republican voters see Rubio as a better alternative to Bush.
For example, if Bush were to drop out of the race, support for Rubio would jump to within just a few points of Trump, a sign many of Bush’s supporters are ready to back Rubio. But if Rubio fell away, many of Rubio’s supporters would migrate to Cruz.
The survey also shows post-debate bumps for Rubio, Cruz and Carson, while Bush continues to falter in numerous polls from around the nation.
The survey of roughly 2,000 Florida Republican primary voters was conducted Oct. 29-30 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
