Rubio maintains lead over Demings in Florida Senate race

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is holding his edge over his Democratic rival, Rep. Val Demings (Fla.), in Florida’s U.S. Senate race, according to a new survey from Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy.

The poll shows Rubio notching 47 percent in the race, with Demings trailing at 41 percent. Another 2 percent say they plan to vote for another candidate, while 10 percent are undecided.

The survey suggests little change in the dynamics of the race since a similar poll in February showed Rubio leading Demings 49 percent to 42 percent. That poll showed that 9 percent remained undecided and did not ask if voters planned to support a third candidate.

Both Rubio and Demings are winning similar levels of support among their parties’ voters. Eighty-six percent of Republicans say they’re backing Rubio, while 84 percent are lining up behind Demings.

But Rubio has a slight edge among independent voters, who make up nearly a third of registered voters in the Sunshine State. Forty-four percent of independents say they plan to support Rubio compared to 39 percent who are backing Demings, the Mason-Dixon poll found.

Meanwhile, Hispanic voters in Florida remain evenly divided between the two candidates, with 45 percent supporting Demings and 45 percent supporting Rubio. That’s a notable split, given that Hispanic voters in the state have traditionally leaned Democratic.

At the same time, President Biden’s sagging approval numbers may be weighing on Demings’s prospects in the race. Forty-two percent of respondents say they approve of Biden’s job performance, while 54 percent disapprove.

The Mason-Dixon poll is based on telephone interviews with 800 registered Florida voters statewide. It was conducted Sept. 26-28 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.