Three polls released in the last twenty-four hours confirm that Republican Marco Rubio is cruising toward election as the new U.S. Senator from Florida, while Charlie Crist's hopes of making the jump from Governor to Senator are fading fast.

Yesterday surveys from Rasmussen Reports and CNN/Time pegged Rubio's lead over Crist at 11 points, and this morning a poll from Quinnipiac University gives Rubio an even wider 13-point margin over Crist,, 46 to 33, with Democrat Kendrick Meek pulling in 18% support.

Overall, Rubio now holds a 12.2% lead in the RCP Average in Florida.

After falling way behind Rubio early this year in the Republican primary, Crist dropped out of the GOP race at the end of April and announced his candidacy as an Independent. The move bounced Crist into a slight lead over Rubio which lasted throughout the summer. But since the completion of the primary races on August 24, Crist has been bleeding support. The trend appears to have accelerated since Labor Day, as Crist has been pummelled by Rubio and Meek from both the left and the right. (Watch Meek's lastest ad, released yesterday, here.)

In the month of September, Crist has lost nearly four points in the RCP Average, while Meek and Rubio have gained 3.4% and 6.0%, respectively.

Another sign of Rubio's strength, according to the Quinnipiac poll, is that nearly all of his supporters (90%) say their minds are made up.  Support for Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek is far more soft: 29% of Crist's supporters and 38% of Meek's supporters say there is a chance they may change their minds before Election Day.

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