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Poll: Independents Bolster Incumbent Republican Senators in Battleground States

Quinnipiac battleground poll shows Burr, Rubio, Portman with modest leads, Toomey in tossup

Democrat Katie McGinty held a 1-point lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, which is down two points since a similar poll a month ago. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Democrat Katie McGinty held a 1-point lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, which is down two points since a similar poll a month ago. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Republican Senate incumbents in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio have small leads in their races, a new poll shows, while the race in Pennsylvania remains a tossup.

The Quinnipiac University poll released Friday shows Florida Sen. Marco Rubio leading Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy by 7 points. Rubio also beats Murphy among independent voters by 16 points.

Similarly in North Carolina, Sen. Richard Burr holds a 6-point lead over former state legislator Deborah Ross, despite Republican Gov. Pat McCrory losing to Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper and Hillary Clinton beating Donald Trump.

[Roll Call Election Guide: Ratings for Every Race in the Country]

In Ohio, former Gov. Ted Strickland has fallen 11 points behind Sen. Rob Portman. This comes as the independent expenditure arms of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee delayed an ad buy for Strickland, as did Senate Majority PAC, signs that these groups are reconsidering whether their efforts are better spent elsewhere.

Portman held a 17-point lead among independents, and Burr leads Ross among independents by 13 points.

The Senate race in Pennsylvania remains close. Democrat Katie McGinty leads incumbent Republican Pat Toomey by a point and holds a 4-point advantage with independents.

McGinty’s lead shrunk by 2 points since Quinnipiac’s Aug. 11 poll.

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