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Poll: Murphy Pulls Ahead of Grayson, Rubio Trounces Both

Florida survey also shows Hillary Clinton with large lead in presidential race

Rep. Patrick Murphy has a sizable lead over Rep. Alan Grayson, but trails Sen. Marco Rubio by 8 points. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Rep. Patrick Murphy has a sizable lead over Rep. Alan Grayson, but trails Sen. Marco Rubio by 8 points. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

A new poll shows Florida Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy beating his Senate primary opponent Rep. Alan Grayson, but incumbent Republican Sen. Marco Rubio would beat both of them in the general election.

The Saint Leo University Polling Institute survey showed that among 532 Florida Democrats polled, Murphy led Grayson by a commanding 48 percent to 17 percent margin. 

The Democratic establishment has largely lined up behind Murphy and Grayson’s prospects have only gotten worse in light of allegations that he abused his ex-wife on top of an ongoing ethics investigation in the House.

Rubio, who decided to run for re-election after his failed presidential run, has a huge lead in the Republican primary, with 68 percent of the vote in the four-candidate field, among the 479 Florida GOP voters polled. 

In head-to-head general election matchups, Rubio leads Murphy, 46 percent to 38 percent, with 16 percent undecided, and he leads Grayson, 47 percent to 34 percent, with nearly 19 percent undecided.

The same poll shows Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leading Republican Donald Trump in the traditional battleground state, with 52 percent of those surveyed saying they either would vote for or were leaning toward her, and 38 percent saying the same about her Republican rival Donald Trump.

Among those who said they had made up their minds, 48 percent said they were voting for Clinton and 34 percent for Trump.

The presidential poll surveyed 1,500 adults in Florida online, including 1,380 likely voters, from Aug. 14 to Aug. 18. The margin of error is 3 percentage points. 

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