Sorry Marco Rubio, but the political establishment in Florida thinks it's over for you.

Nine out of 10 people surveyed in the latest Tampa Bay Times Florida Insider Poll expect Rubio to lose Florida's March 15 presidential primary to Donald Trump, and 9 in 10 expect Trump to be the Republican nominee.

More than 8 in 10 of the more than 170 politicos surveyed said Florida's junior senator should suspend his campaign if and when he loses his home state.

"I'm resigned to the fact that Donald Trump is going to be the nominee. Rubio or (Ted) Cruz can't stop him. My wishful fantasy is someone would step forward as either a third-party candidate or someone delegates could rally around. The meat-and-potatoes Republicans who are voting for Trump are blowing up this party, and it's a crying shame," said one Republican.

Said another: "Trump is going to knock out Rubio on March 15, and Rubio will cost himself a chance to run for governor in 2018 after getting embarrassed in his home state."

Florida Insider Polls are unscientific surveys of Florida's political class — campaign consultants, lobbyists, activists, fundraisers, academics and the like — and include people actively supporting or working for assorted presidential campaigns and committees. These surveys tend to be better indications of conventional wisdom among Florida's political elites than reliable predicators.

We allow Florida Insider Poll participants to comment anonymously to encourage frank assessments.

Many of the Florida Insiders were Jeb Bush supporters, and most represent the political establishment that Trump is running against.

Forty-three percent said a contested primary would be wise for the GOP if it could stop Trump from winning the nomination.

"If the GOP tries to block Donald at this time, it would be the end of the party," one Democrat said. "The grass roots already hates the establishment (for good reason). The establishment hates the grass roots — but rather than trying to solve the issue, they chose to ride the wave and keep stoking it since 2010. Now they have to sleep in the bed they made. It won't be pretty. But if you thought the health care town hall revolt in 2010 was ugly, just think about what it would look like if they tried to block Trump."

Another Republican: "I'm a former Jeb supporter, but now pulling for Trump. Yes, we exist. All the talk about never supporting Trump will change really fast when he's the nominee. After all, these paid political operatives want work. If polls look bad for Rubio one week out from March 15, he'd better drop out or risk his entire political future (yes, everyone knows he wants to run for governor as a fallback). The wins by Cruz and Rubio only benefit Trump since it keeps them in the race and divides the anti-Trump vote."

Seventy percent said Hillary Clinton would beat Trump in the general election.

"God save the Republic," said one Republican.

This Florida Insider Poll included 64 Democrats, 99 Republicans and 10 people registered to neither major party. They are listed on The Buzz blog at tampabay.com/buzz.

Baker for Congress?

More and more people are thinking that former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker will take the plunge and run for Congress to succeed Republican David Jolly in Pinellas County's Congressional District 13. Baker is keeping mum, but House Speaker Paul Ryan is encouraging him and understands that Baker, with his strong ties and support among African-American voters, is probably the only Republican with a shot of winning a newly drawn heavily Democratic seat.

Democrats running are former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and former Defense Department official Eric Lynn.

Intriguingly, in August, someone anonymous secured two website domains: bakerforcongress.com and rickbakerforcongress.com.

Risk of backing Trump

If you're running as the anti-establishment candidate in Florida's wide-open Republican U.S. Senate primary, you might like the idea of jumping on board with the anti-establishment Republican presidential frontrunner who is firing up so many Republican voters in Florida and across the land. But if you're Ron DeSantis, endorsed by the anti-tax group Club for Growth and counting on the group to help you win, you'd better think twice.

The Club for Growth launched a $1.5 million ad campaign trashing Trump as a lousy businessman, and a spokesman warned that it would likely withhold endorsements and fundraising help from any congressional candidate backing Trump.

No problem, said DeSantis campaign spokesman Brad Herold: "Congressman DeSantis has long decided to remain neutral in the presidential primary and is focused on building a broad coalition for his Senate campaign."

The only Republican Senate candidate taking sides in Florida's primary is Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who backs Rubio.