Big news in the Florida Senate contest: a new Rasmussen survey (431 LVs, 12/14, MoE +/- 5%) shows that the insurgent Marco Rubio is now tied with Gov. Charlie Crist.

Primary Election Matchup
Crist 43 (-6 vs. last poll, 10/19)
Rubio 43 (+8)
Und 9 (-3)

Crist led 53-31 in an August survey; his lead in the RCP Average is down to 8.4.

Rubio is viewed very favorably by a whopping one-third of these primary voters, compared to 19 percent for Crist. One-in-five voters was unsure, meaning there is still some room to grow.

Favorable Ratings
Rubio 64 / 15
Crist 61 / 38

The August 2010 primary is closed only to registered Republicans, which spells trouble for Crist as he's struggled to define himself as a true conservative. Rasmussen:

Fifty-six percent (56%) of likely GOP Primary voters approve of Crist's performance as governor. Forty-three percent (43%) disapprove of the job he is doing. These numbers are virtually unchanged from October and don't represent particularly strong support by voters for a governor from their own party. Only 11% Strongly Approve while 15% Strongly Disapprove.

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