Clinton, Rubio Close In Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll Finds

Quinnipiac reports:

FLORIDA: Clinton 47 - Rubio 44
OHIO: Kasich 47 - Clinton 40, Clinton 43 - Paul 43
PENNSYLVANIA: Rubio 44 - Clinton 43, Paul 45 - Clinton 44

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida runs best against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 presidential matchups with eight top Republican contenders in three critical swing states, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today. Voters in each state say by margins of 8 to 14 percentage points that the Democratic front-runner is not honest and trustworthy.

Clinton still leads or is in a too-close-to-call matchup in every race in each state, except for Ohio, where native son Gov. John Kasich leads 47 - 40 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. The Swing State Poll focuses on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania because since 1960 no candidate has won the presidential race without taking at least two of these three states.

Clinton's favorability ratings are 47 - 45 percent in Florida, negative 44 - 48 percent in Ohio and 46 - 48 percent in Pennsylvania.

She is not honest and trustworthy, Florida voters say 51 - 43 percent, Ohio voters say 53 - 40 percent and Pennsylvania voters say 54 - 40 percent.

"It's a long way until Election Day, but in the critical swing states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has a tiny edge over the GOP field, "said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll.

"Most of the eight GOP hopefuls are within striking distance of Secretary Hillary Clinton in at least one of the three states. In Ohio, Gov. Kasich leads."

"But perhaps more troubling for her than the continuing slide is how she is perceived by voters who continue to say she is not honest and trustworthy."

"But potentially more disturbing for her are low marks for caring about voter needs and problems. This is where Democrats almost always fare better than Republicans. Yet in this survey many Republican candidates do as well or better than does she," Brown added.

Those are pretty good numbers for the Republicans , this early on.