Poll shows Trump, Rubio in tight race to win Florida
CLINTON IN MICHIGAN
Hillary Clinton is asking Michigan primary voters for their support, but also looking ahead to November.
“The sooner I could become your nominee the more I can begin to turn my attention to the Republicans,” Clinton told about 850 people gathered at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit on Monday night.
The night before the Michigan primary, Clinton stressed her commitment to supporting manufacturing, a recurring theme for her in Michigan.
SANDERS IN MICHIGAN
Bernie Sanders is accusing Hillary Clinton of mischaracterizing his position on the federal government’s 2008 bailout of the auto industry on the eve of Michigan’s presidential primary.
The Vermont senator says at a Monday rally in Kalamazoo, Mich., that he voted in 2008 for the rescue of the auto industry in the Senate when it was a stand-alone issue and not included in a bailout for Wall Street.
Clinton accused Sanders of opposing the auto bailout during Sunday night’s presidential debate in Flint, Mich.
CRUZ IN MISSISSIPPI
Ted Cruz is telling Mississippi voters that it’s easy to talk about making America great again but it’s more important to understand the principles on which the country was founded.
The day before Mississippi’s primaries, Cruz stood on a table and spoke to more than 200 people at a catfish restaurant in Florence. Cruz won rowdy applause by saying he will protect gun owners’ rights, eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and nominate strict constitutionalists to the Supreme Court.
Also, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is endorsing Cruz for president. The Cruz campaign announced the endorsement Monday.
KASICH IN MICHIGAN
John Kasich is criticizing Hillary Clinton for saying Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder should resign over the lead-contaminated water in Flint, Mich.
Campaigning in Snyder’s state, Kasich says Clinton’s remarks in Sunday’s Democratic debate that Snyder should resign or be recalled are “the definition of gall.” He’s suggesting Clinton is hypocritical without offering specifics.
“Of all the people in the world to call on someone to resign,” Kasich said, adding, “we’ll get to that in the fall.”
FLORIDA | FORT LAUDERDALE —
Marco Rubio is within striking distance of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump in Florida, where the March 15 winner-take-all primary is a critical showdown between the two candidates.
A Monmouth University Poll released Monday shows Trump, the New York real estate developer, with support of 38 percent of likely primary voters.
Rubio, the freshman Republican U.S. senator from West Miami, has 30 percent.
Those numbers are a statistical tie in the poll that has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, which means either candidate could have more — or less — support than the percentages reported by the pollsters.
The Trump campaign, in a statement, said the poll shows him “with a significant lead in Florida.”
‘Within shooting distance’
Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a written analysis of the results, that “Rubio is within shooting distance in his home state with a week to go in this volatile nomination contest.”
The poll contains other good news for Rubio. He leads 48 percent to 23 percent among voters who have already voted. Trump leads 42 percent to 26 among those who haven’t cast ballots, which means Rubio might be able to change their minds and Trump’s organization needs to devote resources to turning out his supporters.
And it contains a dose of bad news for Trump. If he’s the nominee, 10 percent of Florida Republicans said they’d desert him — and vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton in November.
Showdown state
The Sunshine State is the showdown state for Trump and Rubio. The two men have been trading heated rhetoric at each other as Florida has emerged as a must win for Rubio.
The other leading candidate, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, has 17 percent support among Florida Republicans. Gov. John Kasich, of Ohio, has 10 percent.
Anti-Trump forces have asked for two of the three other candidates to drop out so voters have one alternative. But Monmouth pollsters found Rubio wouldn’t necessarily win Florida if the others weren’t in the race.
Trump undercounted?
The Monmouth University Polling Institute, in West Long Branch, N.J., surveyed 403 likely Republican presidential primary voters in Florida.
They were contacted March 3 to 6 by live interviewers who called landlines and cellphones.
The sample was drawn from registered Republicans who participated in the 2012 or 2014 primaries or voted in the last two general elections and said they’d vote in this year’s primary.
Trump has attracted support from many people who haven’t been involved in politics, so the sample design could undercount his supporters.