Rasmussen Reports this week is the gift that keeps on giving to Marco Rubio. In addition to a tied Rubio-Charlie Crist primary, the pollster finds Rubio beating Democrat Kendrick Meek in a hypothetical match up 49 percent to 35 percent. Crist topped the Miami Democrat 42 percent to 36 percent:

Crist’s edge over Meek is down from a 12-point lead in October. The reason for the difference is that 79% of conservatives support Rubio but only 62% say Crist can count on their vote. Twenty-four percent (24%) of conservatives say they’d prefer either a third party option or are undecided. If Crist were to win the nomination, it is likely that many of those voters would end up supporting him over Meek.