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Mack upsets GOP Senate primary field

Posted Nov 11, 2011 by William March

Updated Nov 11, 2011 at 11:48 AM

Boosted by his father’s popular name, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack of Fort Myers is upending the Republican U.S. Senate primary and threatening incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, even before formally entering the race, according to a new poll.

In the Quinnipiac University poll, Mack led among Republican voters with 32 percent, while none of the other four best-known candidates got more than 9 percent. But as in past polls, undecided remains the largest category in the poll.

The results were Mack, 32 percent; George LeMieux, 9 percent; Mike McCalister, 6 percent; Adam Hasner and Craig Miller, 2 percent each; and undecided, “someone else” or “wouldn’t vote” responses, 51 percent.

In a general election matchup with Nelson, Mack managed a statistical tie, with 40 percent to Nelson’s 42 percent, and 18 percent declining to pick one of those two choices.

In other findings in the poll:

—Gov. Rick Scott’s approval rating remains “in the toilet,” according to a news release from the Quinnipiac pollsters, at 36 percent with 50 percent disapproval.
—Despite a controversy in the last month over inaccuracies in his accounts of his family’s move here from Cuba, Sen. Marco Rubio’s approval ratings held steady at 49 percent, with 29 percent disapproval.
—Nelson’s job approval ratings remained little changed at 47 percent approval and 27 percent disapproval.

Check full results here.