Donald Trump tops the Republican presidential field in two of three crucial swing states, while John Kasich — playing with home-field advantage — is ahead of the real estate mogul in Ohio, a new poll shows.
If the primary were today, Ohio’s governor would beat Trump 27 percent to 21 percent, according to the results from Quinnipiac University. None of the other 15 GOP hopefuls would receive more than 7 percent of the vote.
It’s a different story in Florida, where Trump leads with 21 percent, besting that state’s former governor, Jeb Bush, and junior U.S. senator, Marco Rubio. And in Pennsylvania, Trump polls at 24 percent, giving him a double-digit lead over his next closest challenger, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
Kasich manages only 3 percent in each of those states.
“Ohio is important, but if Gov. John Kasich is going to be a serious candidate for the Republican nomination he must broaden his appeal,” said Peter A. Brown, the Quinnipiac Poll’s assistant director. “In Pennsylvania and Florida more than half the voters don’t know enough about Kasich to have an opinion about him.”
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton remains the clear frontrunner, but her numbers have been slipping. In Ohio, for example, her 47 percent places her 30 points ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. But she was at 60 percent in June.
Clinton also fares poorly when voters are asked if she’s “honest and trustworthy.” In Ohio, 60 percent of all voters surveyed said no, up from 53 percent in June. And a majority in Ohio — 54 percent — have an unfavorable opinion of Clinton.
Trump is in similar territory; 53 percent of Ohio voters find him untrustworthy and 54 percent have an unfavorable opinion — including 33 percent of Republicans.
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