May 9th, 2012 by sbihr
A handful of states likely will decide the next president, according to the punditry class. If that’s the case, then consider Florida the tipping point.
Recent surveys have found President Barack Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney running neck and neck in the Sunshine State and a fresh poll released today confirms that trend.Â
Obama leads by a sliver (46-45 percent) in the Suffolk University/WSVN-TV Miami  poll. The survey of 600 registered Florida voters was taken Sunday-Tuesday and the result is well within the poll’s +/-4 percent margin of error.
The aggregate of six Florida surveys taken within the last month shows Obama with a microscopic lead (45.5-45 percent) and all signs point to the state being a major player in the fall.
Interestingly, Suffolk found that both former Gov. Jeb Bush or Sen. Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, would give Romney a boost in Florida. A Romney-Bush ticket leads Obama-Joe Biden by two points (47-45), while Romney-Rubio lead by three (47-44).
- Scott Bihr
Tags: barack obama, Democrat, Florida, GOP, Jeb Bush, marco rubio, Mitt Romney, poll, president, Republican
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May 4th, 2012 by sbihr
Call it a split decision. Republican voters have settled on Mitt Romney at the top of the presidential ticket, but they remain conflicted on who should be his running mate.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday found that Rick Santorum (18 percent) and Marco Rubio (17 percent) were the top choices in a crowded field with no clear favorite. They were closely followed by N.J. Gov. Chris Christie (13), Jeb Bush (13), the popular ex-governor of Florida, and Mike Huckabee (12).
Rubio’s primary support came from the tea party. A solid one-quarter of its members backed the Senator from West Miami, while 16 percent favored Santorum.
This survey is somewhat of a departure from earlier polls, where Rubio consistently has been the top pick of the GOP electorate.
Rubio has repeatedly said that he is not interested in the vice presidential slot.
- Scott Bihr
Tags: Chris Christie, Florida, GOP, Jeb Bush, marco rubio, Mitt Romney, politics, poll, president, Repubicans, Rick Santorum, vice president
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April 29th, 2012 by sbihr
There is good news for both Democrats and Republicans in a fresh Florida poll released this weekend.
The Rasmussen Reports survey found that Mitt Romney, the GOP nominee-in-waiting, has a slender 1-point lead (46-45 percent) over President Barack Obama in the race for Florida’s coveted 29 electoral votes. For the Democrats, incumbent Bill Nelson has opened a double-digit lead (47-36 percent) over U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV, R-Fort Myers, in a hypothetical U.S. Senate matchup. The poll of 500 likely Florida voters was taken Thursday and has a margin of error of +/-4.5 percent.
Romney is enjoying a nice bump since becoming presumptive nominee a few weeks back. The Rasmussen poll marks the second consecutive Florida survey that shows Romney with the lead, although both results are well within the margin of error.
 Nelson, meanwhile, appears to be the beneficiary of an increasingly nasty Republican primary fight. GOP hopeful George LeMieux has unleashed a bevy of negative attack ads on Mack and the Fort Myers congressman’s standing has taken a hit in the polls. Mack will face off against LeMieux and businessman Mike McCalister for the right to face Nelson in the Republican primary on Aug. 8.
- Scott Bihr
Tags: barack obama, Connie Mack, Democrats, Florida, George LeMieux, Mitt Romney, politics, Republicans, U.S. Senate
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April 25th, 2012 by sbihr
Mitt Romney has carved out a narrow lead over President Barack Obama in Florida, according to a new poll released today.
Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, holds a slender 47-45 percent edge in the Purple Strategies survey. The poll of 600 likely Florida voters has a margin of error of +/-4 percent, which means the state is essentially a tossup. The survey was conducted last Thursday through Monday.
Romney has been gaining ground on the president in recent Florida polls as he looks to wrap up the GOP nomination. This favorable trend for Romney suggests that Republican voters are beginning to coalesce around him and signals a close battle for Florida’s prized 29 electoral votes in the fall.
- Scott Bihr
Tags: 2012 election, barack obama, Florida, Mitt Romney, poll, president
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April 20th, 2012 by sbihr
Mitt Romney has enjoyed a small bump in the national polls since becoming the presumptive GOP nominee after Rick Santorum left the race. Now it appears that he is receiving a boost in Florida as well.
Romney trails President Barack Obama by a scant two points (45-43 percent), essentially a tie, in a fresh Fox News survey released today. The poll of 757 registered Florida voters has a margin of error of +/-4 percent.
Interestingly, the poll also found that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio does little to boost Romney’s chances. With  the junior Senator from West Miami on the ticket, Obama holds a 45-44 edge.
Most recent polls have shown Obama with a 5-7 percentage point lead in Florida, so it will be interesting to see if the Fox survey portends a trend or is merely an outlier.
- Scott Bihr
Tags: barack obama, Democrats, Florida, GOP, marco rubio, Mitt Romney, president, presidential race, Republicans
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