The state where Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential dreams were born could be the place where they go to die.

Donald Trump continues to be the favorite in Florida by a wide margin, a new Qunnipiac poll shows. This puts to rest any thought that Trump’s success in the Sunshine State was due largely to Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush splitting the moderate vote.

The first Florida poll taken after Jeb’s inglorious exit from the primary race shows Trump 16 points ahead of nearest rival Rubio, with 44 percent support from likely GOP voters. While Rubio’s 28 percent was 10 points higher than the last poll, which saw him take 18 percent, Trump’s percentage also is up a few points and he continues to dominate.

“Florida is the single biggest prize of the primary season because it is the largest state to allocate its delegates on a winner-take-all basis,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll. “If Sen. Rubio can’t win in his own home state, it is difficult to see how he can win elsewhere,”

[lz_table title=”Latest Florida Poll Results” source=”Quinnipiac”]Overall
Trump,44%
Rubio,28%
Cruz,12%
|Evangelical Christians
Trump,42%
Rubio,28%
Cruz,19%
|Economy & Jobs Most Important
Trump,51%
Rubio,28%
Cruz,12%
|Immigration Most Important
Trump,66%
Rubio,12%
Cruz,12%
[/lz_table]

Trump leads Rubio 51 to 28 percent with voters who list the economy and jobs as their most important issue. He leads 66 to 12 percent among those who say immigration is the most important issue.

The latest poll is also bad news for Ted Cruz, whom it shows with 12 percent support — a 10-point drop from his position in a previous a poll taken in late January. Trump has double Cruz’s support among evangelicals, one of Cruz’s core target audiences.

Worse news still for Cruz, even Rubio is doing better among evangelicals — leading the fiery Baptist by nearly 10 points.

Florida is set to be yet another stunning victory for the Trump campaign, another struggle for the Rubio campaign, and another disappointment for the Cruz campaign.