Poll: Bush loses ground in home state Florida

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is losing ground in his home state’s 2016 Republican presidential primary, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Bush currently leads the pack with 24 percent of Republican voters, but that lead has slipped 8 percentage points since February. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker finishes second with 15 percent, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio rounds out the top three with 12 percent.

{mosads}“Bush has a lead over the field in his home state of Florida, but it’s not anywhere near insurmountable,” Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, said in a press release.

Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson finishes fourth with 8 percent. And Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), the only Republican to officially announce a White House bid, follows him with 7 percent.

The results show Walker’s stock rising as he continues to establish himself. He won just 8 percent of the Florida vote in February.

Meanwhile, Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) holds an 11-point lead in his home state, while Walker leads by 5 percentage points in Pennsylvania.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton continues to hold a strong lead over her potential challengers. She won 65 percent of Florida Democrats, 54 percent of Ohio Democrats and 48 percent of Pennsylvania Democrats. None of her challengers scored higher than 15 percent of the vote.

While Clinton gained ground in Florida, she lost 3 percent of the Democratic vote in Ohio and 6 percent in Pennsylvania since a Quinnipiac poll conducted in February, before the controversy surrounding her use of private email emerged.