A poll released on Thursday has indicated that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist leads state House Speaker Marco Rubio in the race for the state's U. S. Senate seat.

Conducted by Telsel Inc. of St. Augustine for the campaign of Libertarian candidate Alexander Snitker, the poll showed Crist, running as an independent, favored by 40 percent of likely voters if the election were held today and Rubio, a Republican, receiving 33.5 percent, followed by Democrat Kendrick Meek at 9.5 percent. Fourteen percent said they were undecided.

It was further reported that Snitker only garnered 2.5 percent in what his campaign said was the first scientific poll in which he was included. However, the poll revealed his share rose to 12 percent among likely voters who said they were familiar with him, while the numbers dropped for all other candidates.

40 percent favored Crist, 32 percent Rubio, 9 percent Meek, 2.5 percent Snitker and 16.5 percent were undecided.

It was also reported that Telsel surveyed 505 registered voters selected at random from the 2010 Florida Division of Elections database. Of the total, 447 said they are likely to vote in the November general election.

In announcing the poll results, Snitker's campaign didn't provide details of when it was conducted or a margin of error.

The report further noted that the candidates are seeking the seat now held by Sen. George LeMieux, who was appointed by Crist last August to replace Mel Martinez, a Republican who resigned to become a lobbyist. (With Inputs from Agencies)