Crist Holds 6-Point Lead as Independent in Florida Senate Race, Poll Shows

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist holds a six-point lead in his state's Senate race, according to a poll conducted after Crist left the Republican Party to run as an independent last week.

The Florida governor launched his independent bid after polls showed him consistently trailing Republican Marco Rubio in the party primary race.

But the Mason-Dixon poll shows Crist now leading both Rubio and Democratic candidate Rep. Kendrick Meek in a hypothetical general election match-up.

The poll showed Crist with 38 percent support, compared with 32 percent for Rubio and 19 percent for Meek. Eleven percent were undecided.

Pollster Brad Coker told the Orlando Sentinel that since most of Crist's supporters are Democrats a large bloc of his support could abandon him as Meek raises his profile in the race. The poll showed 48 percent of Crist's supporters were Democrats.

The poll of 625 likely voters was conducted between Monday and Wednesday. It had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.