NBC 6’s Julia Bagg has more on the only scheduled debate between the two candidates vying for the seat.
With two weeks to go before Floridians will cast their votes for the midterm election, a new poll shows Hispanic voters in the state favor Republican incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio by seven points over Democratic challenger Val Demings.
Rubio leads Demings 49% to 42% among Hispanic voters in the state, with another 7% undecided and 2% supporting a third candidate, according to the Telemundo/LX News poll released Tuesday.
Hispanic voters in central Florida support Demings 48% to 41%, but Rubio leads in southeast Florida 47% to 44%, and in the Tampa area by 56% to 38%, the poll found.
DECISION 2022
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Cubans overwhelmingly support Rubio by a 72% to 22% margin, while Demings is supported by Puerto Rican voters by a 59% to 32% margin. Voters with other Hispanic roots support Demings 49% to 41%.
The 2022 poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy from Oct. 17 to Oct. 20. A total of 625 registered Hispanic voters statewide were interviewed were randomly selected from a phone-matched Florida voter registration list that included both landline and cell phone numbers. Quotas were assigned to reflect Hispanic voter registration by county. All indicated they were likely to vote in the general election. The margin for error, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than ± 4 percentage points.
Hispanic voters were also asked about a range of other issues in addition to the Florida U.S. Senate race.
When asked about the state banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, 47% were in support compared to 44% who opposed and 9% who were undecided, the poll found.
Cubans support the measure 61% to 31% opposed, while Puerto Ricans oppose it by a 55% to 35% margin. Hispanic voters from elsewhere oppose it 49% to 43% who support.
When it comes to Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed by activists the "Don't Say Gay" bill, which prohibits public schools from teaching gender identity in kindergarten through 3rd grade, 54% support the measure compared to 41% who oppose and 5% who were unsure, the poll found.
Cubans voters support the law 73% to 24%, while Puerto Rican voters oppose it 54% to 39%, and other Hispanic voters support it 49% to 47%.
When asked which political party best represents their views on major issues, 51% said the Republican party compared to 40% who opted for the Democratic party, while another 9% said neither party did.
A Telemundo/LX News poll released Monday showed incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis leading Democratic challenger Charlie Crist by 51% to 44% statewide among Hispanic voters, with 56% approving of the job the governor is doing, compared to 41% who don’t approve.
The Telemundo Station Group is part of the NBCUniversal Local division and owned by Comcast, the same parent company as NBC 6.
LX News is NBCUniversal Local’s new TV and streaming network that serves younger audiences. LX News is owned by Comcast, the same parent company as NBC 6.
