Crist's Lead Over Conservative Challenger is Halved in Florida

"Gov. Charlie Crist's lead, which had been 29 points August 19, has come back down to earth. His margin is still formidable, but obviously Marco Rubio's focus on convincing Republican conservatives that he, not Crist, is their kind of guy is bearing fruit," said Quinnipiac's Peter Brown.

Forty-four percent of Republicans view Rubio favorably, but among voters overall, the most significant statistic is that 67 percent haven't heard enough about him to form an opinion. Crist is viewed favorably by all voters, 58 percent to 30 percent with only 10 percent not having an opinion, and his favorable numbers include 63 percent of Republicans (not particularly high for an incumbent governor), 47 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of independents.

For the general election, Crist leads Meek, 51 percent to 31 percent with 14 percent undecided, while Rubio trails him, 36 percent to 33 percent with 28 percent undecided. The margin of error is 3 points. Like Rubio, Meek suffers from a recognition problem, with 71 percent saying they haven't heard enough about Meek to view him favorably or unfavorably.

In the race to succeed Christ as governor, Attorney General and former Republican congressman Robert McCollum leads Democrat Alex Sink, the state's chief financial officer, by 36 percent to 32 percent with 27 percent undecided.

Though McCollum retains a lead, "almost a quarter of the electorate is undecided, giving Ms. Sink plenty of opportunity with 13 months until Election Day," said Brown.