Florida voters asked in poll if Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer - 10 percent say ‘yes’

It is one of the weirdest polls to emerge during the US presidential elections: Is Ted Cruz the Zodiac Killer? And possibly even weirder was the polling response.

An alarming percentage of Florida voters seem to think it is possible presidential hopeful Cruz is the serial killer behind a spate of murders along the west coast of America in the late 1960s and early 1970s. That’s despite the fact the Republican would not have been born when the first known Zodiac murders were uncovered in 1968. 

But when has the internet ever been sensible? 

Last week, a generally serious polling company succumbed to internet craziness and decided to ask voters their thoughts on the Zodiac-Cruz theory, polling 1,012 registered Floridian voters on the issue.

The online reaction was naturally one of sheer joy and excitement.

According to the results, 38 percent of Floridians think there are definitely grounds for thinking Cruz is the infamous killer who has never been caught or identified, and whose crimes featured center stage in a Hollywood film starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. 

Meanwhile, 10 percent of poll respondents said that the Texas-based politician is without a doubt the serial murderer. Another 28 percent of those polled said they couldn’t be sure of his guilt.

Luckily for Cruz, with the Florida primaries on the horizon, 62 percent of Florida voters have exonerated him, say Public Policy Polling.

READ MORE: Lindsey Graham says GOP has gone 'batsh*t crazy' in 2016 race

Cruz has been undergoing trial by Twitter for some time now, with social media users drawing on all kinds of dubious logic to link Cruz to the Zodiac Killer:

One Twitter user suggests that Cruz’s Canadian birthplace is a clue to unmasking him as the Californian serial killer. 

Another burgeoning armchair investigator has tried to add further weight to the argument by photoshopping the Republican’s face onto a 1969 police sketch.

Ted Cruz hasn’t commented on the bizarre and clearly bogus accusations, though they appear to be having an impact on his Google profile.

Florida could be a key battleground post-Super Tuesday: Cruz could significantly boost his campaign by winning all 99 delegates in Florida - the largest number on offer among all five Republican primaries being held March 15.

Cruz has won 17 delegates so far in his bid to be the Republican presidential nominee, significantly lower than Donald Trump’s current tally of 82.

With 13 states set to go to the polls on Super Tuesday March 1, Cruz desperately needs a win in his home state of Texas that day, if he is to have any realistic chance of clawing his way back into the race.

Cruz and Marcus Rubio are currently dueling it out to convince Americans they can be a viable alternative to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.

All five remaining candidates will be looking to this week’s Super Tuesday to push their count toward the 1,237 delegates required to contest the presidential election as the Republican nominee.