One thing frequently lost because Rubio's margin of victory in the Senate race was so impressive is that he still got less than half of the vote in an electorate that skewed heavily toward the GOP. With the Democratic vote splitting nearly evenly between Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek, Rubio was going to win big pretty much no matter what he did and that didn't require him to be an unusually appealing candidate. -----
LINKBut, he was Jeb's groomed candidate. And, apparently, that's all that mattered.
Rubio is not unusually popular with Florida voters- they're pretty evenly divided in their feelings about him with 43% rating him favorably and 42% unfavorably.
.....
But his 28/52 favorability with independents isn't a whole lot better than the 25/56 we found for new Governor Rick Scott, who's pretty universally thought to be highly unpopular.
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LINK(Rick) Scott, who became only the second governor in the state's history to be elected with less than 50 percent of the vote, has seen his numbers improve, but voters remain skeptical. His net approval rating is -10 percent, with 33 percent of voters approving and 43 percent disapproving.
..... -----
LINKBut, hey, we're not supposed to notice the similarities in unpopularity between Rubio and Scott.
Rubio is
presidential material, you see. Why, there's already a
movement ramping up to dazzle us.
Let's also take a look at Governor Crist's latest numbers.
Floridians have a soft spot for outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist, but remain unsure about Gov.-elect Rick Scott, according to new data released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling, a traditionally Democratic polling firm.
Crist is viewed favorably by 50 percent of the state's voters, his highest approval rating this year. With 39 percent viewing him unfavorably, the self-styled "People's Governor" leaves office with a net approval rating of 11 percent. Among Independents, the governor is a superstar, garnering a 70 percent approval rating.
Among the 30 states where PPP issued year-end polling for governors, Crist ranked 10th, more popular than Gov. Rick Perry, the Texas Republican who won re-election, but less popular than Gov. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who resigned to run for the U.S. Senate.
.....
LINKTo review:
Among Florida voters:Rick Scott (Governor-elect): 33% approval
Marco Rubio (Senator-elect): 43% approval
Charlie Crist (outgoing Gov):
50% approvalAmong Independent voters:Rick Scott: 25% approval
Marco Rubio: 28% approval
Charlie Crist:
70% approval
Among Democratic voters: Charlie Crist: 59% approval right before election;
54% approval
nowAmong Republican voters:Charlie Crist: 23% approval late October;
36% approval
now Do these comparisons of polling numbers for these three men lend a palpable discomfort as to the outcome of Florida's election? They certainly do for me.
But, the frenetic Marco Rubio hype is ginning up to drown all of that out.
Never mind
the corruption; the new narrative is that Rubio is the next coming of Christ.