Marco Rubio Gaining Ground On Jeb Bush In GOP Race In Florida And Nationally

Jeb Bush has fallen into a tie with Marco Rubio in Florida according to the latest Quinnipiac University Poll, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Since February of this year, Bush has fallen from 32 percent in his home state to 20 percent in the new Quinnipiac survey. Sen. Marco Rubio, from the same state, has now climbed to 18 percent in that same survey, which given the 5 percent margin of error in the poll, which means Rubio is statically tied with Jeb Bush in Florida. Rubio is experiencing a similar rise in national polls, and in some instances shows up ahead of Bush in their race for the GOP nomination.

When Florida voters were asked by Quinnipiac which candidate was their second choice for the GOP nomination, 36 percent named Rubio and 33 percent named Bush.

“The favorability rating and combined first and second choice numbers show that in this crowded pack of candidates Sen. Rubio is making strong inroads with Republican primary voters and probably is the candidate who should be most heartened by the results of this poll,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll, said about Rubio and Bush and their polling numbers for the GOP primary in Florida.

Nationally, Jeb Bush has fallen into a tie Marco Rubio in the latest poll by Public Policy Polling, Breitbart News is reporting. While the poll show Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker leading with 17 percent, it also shows Bush with 15 percent and Rubio at 13 percent. Given the 4.4 percent margin of error for the survey, the three candidates are considered to be statistically tied in the race. Ben Carson was at 12 percent, while Mike Huckabee gained the support of 11 percent in the survey, while Ted Cruz and Rand Paul were both at eight percent.

The race could, in part, come down to a battle between Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, which Rubio stated, “it’s politics. It’s not personal,” the Washington Post reported. Rubio added, “I’m not running against Jeb Bush. I’m running for president.”

Miami-Dade County GOP Chairman Nelson Diaz says a lot of Republicans are torn between support Rubio or Bush for president for the GOP nomination for 2016. The choice between them will be a tough decision for many Republicans in Florida while the two candidates, along with Walker, appear to be the leading candidates nationally for the GOP nomination.

Jeb Bush, before he officially announced, may have already lost his front-runner status, the Inquisitr had reported earlier this month. Bush had fallen in some national polls late last month and was statistically tied with Walker, Rubio, Paul, Huckabee, Cruz, and Carson in one poll. An ABC News/Wash. Post poll showed Bush with a 32 percent favorable rating, and 51 percent of voters surveyed having unfavorable view of the former Florida governor.

Jeb Bush remains a contender for the GOP nomination in 2016, but he is not a clear front-runner and is in competition with Walker and Rubio.

[Photo of Marco Rubio campaigning by Scott Olson for Getty Images]