Republican-turned-independent Gov. Charlie Crist continues to lead Florida’s U.S. Senate race thanks to significant support from Democrats, according to a poll by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

The July 16-18 poll of 900 voters suggests U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek would be a stronger Democratic nominee than his primary rival, billionaire Jeff Greene — but either Dem finishes a distant third behind Crist and Republican Marco Rubio.

Crist leads with 35 percent to 29 percent for Rubio and 17 percent for Meek in one hypothetical. With Greene as the nominee, Crist gets 38 percent, Rubio gets 29 percent and Greene gets 13 percent. Libertarian Alex Snitker gets 3 percent with Greene as the Democratic nominee, 4 percent if Meek is the Democrat.

“Crist has become the de facto Democratic nominee and that’s where most of his support is coming from,” pollster Tom Jensen says in a blog post accompanying the new poll release.

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