Floridians tepid on Bush, Rubio bids

Floridians aren't enthusiastic about either Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio running for President in 2016, and Hillary Clinton would crush either of them in the state at this point.

Our newest poll finds that just 33% of Sunshine State voters think Bush should make a 2016 White House bid, compared to 51% who think he should sit it out. There is only a little bit more enthusiasm for a Rubio candidacy, with 37% of voters saying they think he should take the plunge while 53% think he should not. Among Republican voters 60% want Rubio to run, compared to 53% who think Bush should.

Hillary Clinton is a good deal more popular than either Bush or Rubio in the state, and would lead both of them by double digits in hypothetical match ups. 56% of voters have a favorable opinion of her compared to 37% with a negative one. She leads Bush 53/40 and Rubio 56/40 head to head, and also has a 54/41 advantage over Paul Ryan. She leads the Republicans by margins of 17-24 points with independents.

Clinton continues to be the overwhelming favorite of Democratic voters to be their candidate in 2016. 62% say she'd be their first choice compared to 12% for Joe Biden, 5% for Andrew Cuomo, 3% for Elizabeth Warren, 1% each for Martin O'Malley, Brian Schweitzer, and Mark Warner and less than 1% each for Kirsten Gillibrand and Deval Patrick. Clinton has an 82/14 favorability rating with primary voters.

Republicans are closely divided between their two home state candidates with Jeb Bush at 30%, Marco Rubio at 29%, Rand Paul at 11%, Mike Huckabee at 9%, Chris Christie at 8%, Paul Ryan at 4%, Bobby Jindal at 2%, Rick Perry at 1%, and Susana Martinez at less than 1%. Asked just to pick between Rubio and Bush though, 49% of primary voters pick Rubio to 36% for Bush. Bush wins out 54/33 with moderate GOP voters on that front, but 'very conservative' ones choose Rubio by a 57/27 spread.

Full results here

Comments

[LiberalAgenda21]

If Bloomberg runs third party it could make Rubio President despite the country's overwhelming favor of Clinton. Bloomberg could be the most hated man in America when this is all over.

[ThursdayAfternoon]

Bloomberg just tried (unsuccessfully) to recruit Hillary to run to replace him as mayor. I doubt he would have any desire to challenge her for the presidency.

[Diane H. Fabian]

Of course Hillary Clinton would do well in a conservative state. She was a leader in working toward wiping out the Great Society programs, a necessary first step toward ending Social Security. She was also a strong proponent of job outsourcing. Obviously, fewer jobs and more people absolutely desperate for any job at any wage gives corporations a degree of power they haven't enjoyed in a century.