Rubio Widens Lead In U.S. Senate Race
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - Incumbent Republican Marco Rubio holds a seven-point lead over Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy in Florida's high-stakes U.S. Senate race, according to new poll numbers.
The Mason-Dixon Polling & Research poll showed 47 percent of likely voters support Rubio, while 40 percent support Murphy, a congressman who represents parts of the state's Treasure Coast. A Mason-Dixon poll in late August showed Rubio leading by three percentage points.
In a brief analysis released with the poll results, Mason-Dixon pointed to Rubio's lead among Hispanic voters.
"It is extremely difficult now for a Democrat to win in Florida while losing the Hispanic vote," the analysis said.
The race has drawn national attention as Democrats try to take control of the U.S. Senate from Republicans. The Mason-Dixon poll of 820 voters was conducted from last Tuesday to Thursday and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.