Rubio surges in Oklahoma: poll

A new poll shows Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio surging in Oklahoma, rising 10 points ahead of the state’s primary on March 1. 

The Florida senator takes 21 percent support, trailing front-runner Donald Trump, who takes 30 percent, according to the SoonerPoll. Trump’s support in the state was at 35 percent in a Jan. 23 poll. 

{mosads}Ted Cruz places second, with 25 percent support. After Rubio in third, Ben Carson comes in fourth, with 5.7 percent support. No other Republican draws more than 5 percent support.

The poll was conducted Feb. 6–9, largely after Rubio’s shaky performance in Saturday night’s GOP debate but before Trump’s resounding victory in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary and a stronger-than-expected showing from John Kasich.

“Early on, Trump’s been able to channel the anger and frustration felt among Republicans toward President Obama, but anger and frustration can only take you so far in a presidential race,” said Bill Shapard, founder of the SoonerPoll.

Rubio has been endorsed in Oklahoma by two lawmakers, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), while Cruz has been endorsed by Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.).

Trump performed best in the poll among self-identified liberal Republicans, receiving 33.5 percent support from the group and 36.9 percent support from self-described moderates.

The poll surveyed 414 likely Republican voters and has a margin of error of 4.81 percent.