Marco Rubio, left, and Donald Trump. REUTERS/Jim Young Marco Rubio's path to victory in his home state — a state he considers a must-win — looks like an uphill battle, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Thursday.

Rubio, a Florida senator, trailed GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump by 16 points in the Sunshine State. Trump held 44% support there to Rubio's 28%.

Rubio said Sunday that, like several other elected officials in the race, he would need to win his home state.

"Well, I think that's true for everyone in this race," Rubio said on ABC's "This Week" when asked whether Florida was a must-win state. "And it's always been true. And we feel real good about Florida, especially now that the race has narrowed."

He described the race similarly on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"When we get into the winner-take-all states in the middle of March — Ohio, Florida, big chunks of delegates —that's where you really need to begin to win states," Rubio said.

A Rubio adviser tweeted Thursday that the Quinnipiac poll was "way wrong."

While Rubio's communications director criticized the media for its reaction to the survey:

Donald Trump campaigns in Jacksonville, Florida. REUTERS/Daron Dean

National Review reported that Florida, with 99 delegates, was the largest winner-take-all state in terms of delegates during the Republican primary season.

Rubio, who has yet to win a state, is considered by many to be the biggest challenger to Trump. In recent days, after the suspension of Jeb Bush's campaign following Saturday's South Carolina primary, much of the GOP's establishment support has rushed to get behind Rubio.

But the poll isn't all bad news for Rubio. Rubio has seen his support shoot up by 10 points from its levels in a CBS/YouGov poll from January, compared with just a 3-point increase for Trump.

In addition, Rubio has seen a 16-point jump in support when the Quinnipiac poll is contrasted with a Florida Times-Union poll from mid-January. Trump's support increased by 10 points when those two polls are compared.