Democrats eager to tell seniors President Obama will protect them from Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan have a problem: Florida seniors want Ryan to protect them from Obamacare, a new poll suggests.

In Florida, “48 percent of the state’s voters fear the president’s health care law more than Ryan’s proposal when it comes to Medicare,” Rasmussen found in a survey of 500 likely voters (subscriber content). “Just 41 percent fear Ryan’s proposal more.”

Ryan’s lead over Obama is even larger among senior citizens, of whom “54 percent are more fearful of the president’s plan.”

Overall, Romney leads Obama 45 to 43 in Florida, according to the survey (which has a 4.5 percent margin of error).

Ryan’s strength against Obama on the issue of Medicare may suggest Romney-Ryan advertisement attacking Obama for using Medicare money to pay for Obamacare is working.

“This could cost us the election,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wrote in a typically-distraught fundraising email. “The Romney campaign is up with a new ad campaign trying to confuse voters into thinking that Republicans are the ones trying to protect Medicare.”

In Florida, so far, seniors believe Ryan, not Obama.