Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) leads Rep. Val Demings (D-FL-10) by two points in a hypothetical head-to-head general election poll for the 2022 Senate election.
According to a poll from St. Pete Polls, Rubio leads 48 percent to 46 percent. However, the results are still within the 2.2 percent margin of error. The poll consisted of just over 2,000 registered Florida voters.
The poll indicates the race between Rubio and the Democratic opponent will be an expensive, close race. Former Congressman Alan Grayson entered the race on August 16, and the poll was conducted from August 16-17.
The poll consisted of 778 Democrats, 802 Republicans, and 488 Independents. Each candidate easily attracted approximately 80 percent of their party’s preference, but the challenge will come attracting the Independent and no-party-affiliated vote, which remains highly split.
Rubio and Demings each received approximately 46 percent of the voters’ preference.
Of the ethnic groups surveyed, Demings, who is black, would have pulled nearly 80 percent of the black vote, while each of the other ethnicities would have favored Rubio.
Based on gender, Rubio would have won the female vote, while Demings would have won the male vote.
By age, Rubio performed best with the oldest demographic (70+) and the youngest (18-29) demographic, while Demings would have attracted voters aged 30-69.
Florida’s Senate race will likely be one of the most hotly contested races in the country with Republicans looking to gain seats back in both chambers of Congress. The Senate is currently split 50-50, while Republicans are ambitious to gain House seats back from the Democratic majority, especially with Florida gaining another congressional district based on the 2020 Census data.
The Republican leadership in Florida, who will be handling the redistricting process, said they are hoping for a seamless, transparent process outside of political partisanship.
“The House continues to strongly recommend that planned or unplanned conversations about redistricting not take place outside of the committee process with individuals who have a vested interest in the outcomes of the redistricting process,” said Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-65).
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Marco Rubio” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Val Demings” by Val Demings. Background Photo “Senate” by Cliff. CC BY 2.0.
