MARCO IS BACK – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:  When Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced he was dropping out of the primary for the U.S. Senate, he got an immediate bounce in the polls.  Surveys clearly showed he could win in a three-way race.

That was then, this is now.  Republican candidate Marco Rubio is gaining once more, ending Crist's bounce, and turning it into a slow roll downhill.  From Scott Rasmussen:

Charlie Crist received a bounce in the polls when he left the Republican Party to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent. New numbers suggest that the bounce for the governor is over.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Florida finds Republican Marco Rubio with 39% support, while Crist earns 31% of the vote and Democrat Kendrick Meek trails at 18%. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided.

Two weeks ago, just after Crist announced that he was running as an independent, he held a 38% to 34% advantage over Rubio.

The latest numbers parallel the findings in April two weeks before Crist announced he was quitting the Republican Primary race.

COMMENT:  It's a long time from now 'til November, but Rubio has demonstrated his staying power once more.  Let's not get too comfortable, but we can at least be responsibly optimisitc.

May 18, 2010