Meek still behind Crist and Rubio but polls ahead of mogul Greene

August 16, 2010

The Hill

Sean J. Miller

A new poll shows Senate candidate Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) still trailing in a three-way Senate race as President Obama prepares to travel to Miami to raise money for Florida Democrats.

Meek got only 18 percent support in a new Mason-Dixon poll that was released Saturday. Meanwhile, Republican Marco Rubio led the survey with 38 percent, compared to 33 percent for Gov. Charlie Crist. In a hypothetical race with real estate mogul Jeff Greene (D), Crist gets 39 percent, Rubio 38 percent and Greene 12 percent.

The best news for Meek is that he led Greene 40 to 26 percent in the survey, with 28 percent still undecided before the Aug. 24 primary. Greene and Meek met in their final debate Sunday, with both campaigns claiming victory.

While the Mason-Dixon poll showed Meek crushing Greene, a survey released Sunday has Greene ahead.

Meek had the support of 31 percent of the 602 registered voters included in the August 6-10 survey for the St. Petersburg Times, Miami Herald, Bay News 9 and Central Florida News 13, while Greene had 35 percent — 30 percent remain undecided.

In potential three-way match ups, Rubio tops the field if Greene wins the Democratic primary, while Crist tops the field if it's Meek.

Meanwhile, Obama will be in Miami on Wednesday to headline a fundraiser for the Florida Democratic Party. His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, earlier helped raise money for Meek.

The congressman is also getting help from a former president. Bill Clinton will campaign Monday with Meek.

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