Florida Republicans are fairly confident that Senator Marco Rubio will win reelection this year, and while certain polls show a very close race with him on top at the moment, at least one new poll may cause them to start being at least a little anxious. Rep. Val Demings, Rubio’s Democratic challenger, is leading the Florida Republican by 4 percentage points according to a poll released Tuesday by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab.
The poll shows Demings with 48 percent of the support of surveyed registered voters who are planning to vote in the mid-terms, while Rubio only received 44 percent support in the same poll, and 7 percent said they would choosing a different candidate altogether.
89 percent of Republican voters supported Rubio, but the poll showed Demings with 94 percent of Democratic voters and a whopping 46 percent of voters without a party affiliation.
Elizabeth Gregory, a spokeswoman for Rubio’s campaign, responded to the poll in a statement to Fox News:
“This is Florida, and we’ve always said it would be a tight race. This is a choice between Marco’s proven record of results and Val Demings, who votes 100% of the time for Pelosi’s failed agenda. Given that choice, we are more than confident that we will win.”
Deming’s spokesperson Christian Slater also responded to Fox News, praising the former Orlando police chief who is expected to win the Democratic primary next week in a massive landslide:
“The more Florida voters know about Chief Demings, the more they like her. That’s why we are laser-focused on aggressively introducing her to every corner of the state and bringing our message to every community. And our grassroots fundraising makes it possible. While Marco Rubio desperately begs for donations on Fox News, Chief Demings is building a campaign fueled by supporters who are fired up and ready to defeat a career politician who doesn’t show up for work.”
