Poll: Rubio trails Dem in hypothetical Senate match-up

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) may face an uphill battle if he decides to run for reelection, according to a new poll from Public Policy Polling.

{mosads}The poll found that Rubio has a 32 percent approval rating among Florida voters, while 54 percent disapprove of him.

Among GOP voters, the senator registers 51 percent approval and 37 percent disapproval. Rubio gets 18 percent approval among Democrats, with 70 percent disapproving.

And in a hypothetical match-up with Rep. Patrick Murphy, the leading Democratic primary candidate, Rubio trails by 1 point, 43 to 44 percent.

Murphy, who has just 38 percent name recognition, increases his lead among voters who are familiar with him and Rubio, leading 57 to 35 percent.

The poll comes at odds with a Mason-Dixon survey released this week that showed 49 percent of Florida voters want Rubio to run for reelection, while 39 percent do not. The PPP poll found that just 39 percent of voters want him to run, while 51 percent say he should sit out.

The poll surveyed 737 registered voters from June 2 to 5. It has a margin of error 3.6 percentage points.

Rubio, who opted not to run for reelection to focus on his presidential campaign, has come under pressure from GOP leaders to jump back into the crowded Republican primary field. Rubio has so far staved off such pleas and has given his support to his friend, Lt. Gov. Carlos López-Cantera.