ORLANDO, Fla. – GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump has a double-digit lead among likely Republican primary voters in Florida, according to a new poll released Thursday.
The Quinnipiac University poll shows Trump with 44 percent, 16 points ahead of second-place finisher Sen. Marco Rubio, who is from the Sunshine State.
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Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, places third in the poll, with 12 percent, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich is next at 7 percent. Dr. Ben Carson is in fourth place, with 4 percent.
Men back Trump over Rubio 49 to 25 percent, while women support Trump 39 to 31 percent, the poll finds.
The poll says voters identify strong leadership as the most important quality in a presidential nominee.
Trump gets a low negative score in the Sunshine State, with 21 percent of likely Republican primary voters saying they “would definitely not support” Trump, according to the poll. Twenty-six percent say they would not vote for Cruz and 17 percent say no to Rubio, the Q poll shows.
Five percent of likely Republican primary voters in Florida say they are undecided.
The Florida primary is March 15.