On July 13, a Reuters/Ipsos poll was released for the U.S. Senate race in Florida. Independent candidate Charlie Crist has 35%; Republican Marco Rubio 28%; Democrat Kendrick Meek 17%. See this story.
The Florida primary has not been held yet, and it is possible the Democratic nominee will be Jeff Greene, not Kendrick Meek. But when the poll asks the same question, only assuming Greene is the Democratic nominee, Crist still has 35%.
It seems obvious that if Florida had a public funding law like Connecticut’s, which was applicable to U.S. Senate, the results would be different. Requiring Crist to submit a petition of 20% of the last vote cast in Florida, as a condition of receiving public funding, and also requiring him to collect qualifying contributions, while at the same time relieving Rubio of the need to collect any signatures, would create a huge imbalance in funds available to each candidate.