Poll: Sen. Martinez Vulnerable to 2010 Challenge

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) could be ripe for a challenge for his seat in 2010, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Only 36 percent of voters in the survey said he deserves a second term. More voters — 38 percent — say that he doesn’t, and 26 percent are not sure. When asked whom they would vote for if the election was held today, 40 percent said they would support the Democratic candidate and 36 percent said they would back Martinez.

Martinez’s approval rating is at 42 percent, below the 50 percent mark held by most safe incumbents. A third of the voters in the poll said they disapprove of the job Martinez is doing. By contrast, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), who is also up for a second term in 2010, has an approval rating of 68 percent.

“The road to a second term appears more difficult for Sen. Martinez than for Gov. Crist,” said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a memo. “Martinez’s numbers aren’t awful. The key to his winning re-election will be winning back the allegiance of independent voters, who currently are not in his corner. But with a third of independents saying they re undecided, he certainly has an opportunity to accomplish that end.”