Donald Trump leads South Florida native Sen. Marco Rubio 44-28 percent among likely Republican primary voters, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.
Men support Trump over Rubio 49-25 percent, while women support Trump 39-31 percent, the poll finds.
“Florida is the single biggest prize of the primary season because it is the largest state to allocate its delegates on a winner-take-all basis. If Sen. Rubio can’t win in his own home state, it is difficult to see how he can win elsewhere,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has 12 percent with Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 7 percent and Dr. Ben Carson at 4 percent.
Quinnipiac University surveyed 705 likely Republican primary voters in the state by land line and cell phone from Feb. 21 - 24. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
