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Rubio, Kasich Lag in Michigan Ahead of Republican Primary, Poll Finds

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Key Speakers At The Conservative Political Action Conference
Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida and 2016 presidential candidate, arrives to speak during the American Conservative Unions Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., on Saturday, March 5, 2016. After 10 debates spent attacking each other, underdog Republicans finally focused virtually all their collective fire this week on Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner who was savaged by the last Republican nominee just hours earlier in a dramatic broadside. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty ImageBloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images
By Maya Rhodan
Updated: | Originally published: ;

Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich are lagging in Michigan ahead of Tuesday’s presidential primaries there, a new poll finds.

Rubio earned only 13% support among likely and early voters in Michigan’s Republican primary, putting him in fourth place and below the 15% threshold he’d need to reach to get any delegates at all, the Monmouth University poll found. Businessman Donald Trump placed first in the poll with 36%, followed by Senator Ted Cruz with 23% and Kasich just 2 points behind with 21%.

Kasich’s rise in Michigan is critical to his campaign, as he’s set his sights on winning states in the Midwest. A strong performance in Michigan would boost Kasich’s delegate count, which is lagging, and justify his staying in the race.

On the Democratic side, the Monmouth poll found former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beating Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders 55% to 42%.

The poll was conducted via telephone between March 3 and 6, with 402 likely Republican voters and 302 likely Democratic voters participating. The poll has a margin of error of 5.6% for Democrats and 4.9% for Republicans.

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