Polls: Dead Heats in California & Florida Senate Races

In California, a new Field Poll of likely voters shows Senator Barbara Boxer leading Republican challenger Carly Fiorina just 47% to 44%. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Boxer's slight numerical lead masks potentially serious problems for the senator, starting with how 52 percent of the respondents hold an unfavorable view of her.

At the same time, her job approval rating is among the lowest that Field has measured for her since she was first elected to the Senate in 1992: 43 percent of registered voters disapprove of her performance while 42 percent approve. Among likely voters, 48 percent disapprove and 42 percent approve.

Boxer leads Fiorina 46.0% to 41.5% in the Real Clear Politics average of polls.

Meanwhile in Florida, a new Rasmussen poll of likely voters shows Republican Marco Rubio at 36%, independent Charlie Crist at 34%, and Democrat Kendrick Meek at 15%. Rasmussen notes:

Regardless of which Democrat is in the race, Rubio carries roughly 60% of the GOP vote, while Crist earns 29% support from voters in his former party. It will be interesting to see if Crist can hang on to this level of support from Republicans as the campaign wears on.

Crist leads Rubio by 4.8% in the Real Clear Politics of average of polls.

My hunch is that the numbers won't move much until after the August 24 Democratic primary, when voters start to really pay attention and the campaigns begin flooding the airwaves with ads.