Hillary’s rating falls in two key states

Hillary Clinton’s favorability ratings have plunged in two battleground states that will be critical to determining the 2016 presidential election, a new poll finds.

In addition, about half the voters in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania say they don’t trust the former secretary of State.

{mosads}According to a Quinnipiac University survey released on Tuesday, 50 percent of voters in Florida say Clinton is not honest or trustworthy, compared to 41 percent who say she is. Clinton’s favorability rating in the Sunshine State has shrunk from 53 percent positive and 39 percent negative last month, to 49 percent positive and 46 percent negative this month.

In Pennsylvania, 49 percent of voters say they don’t trust Clinton, against 44 percent who say that they do. Clinton’s favorability rating in the Keystone State plummeted from a 55percent-38 percent split in February, to 48 percent positive and 47 percent negative in March.

Clinton’s image has held up the best in Ohio, where a slim plurality, 47 percent, say they find Clinton to be honest and trustworthy, against 46 percent who say they don’t. Her favorability rating remains nearly unchanged here, at 51 percent positive and 43 percent negative.

The former secretary of State has been embroiled in controversy since revelations that she used a personal email address for official State Department business while she led the agency.

Clinton has said she turned over to the government those emails that were pertinent to her work as secretary but deleted all of her personal emails. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the head of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, says Clinton has erased all information from the personal email server she used. Many Republicans are pressuring Clinton to turn her server over to an independent investigator.

A majority of voters in all three states say Clinton’s email troubles are important to their votes for president.

“The good news for Hillary Clinton is that the e-mail controversy has not done huge violence to her presidential chances,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll. “But the matter is taking a toll on the former secretary of state’s public image.”

In Florida, Clinton has lost her lead over Jeb Bush. Last month, she edged the former Florida governor 44 percent to 43 percent. Now, she trails Bush by 3 percentage points, 45 percent to 42 percent.

Clinton leads all other potential GOP presidential contenders in the Sunshine State, but her leads are narrowing. For instance, a 10 percentage point February advantage over Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has been whittled down to a 46 percent to 44 percent lead.

In Ohio, Clinton leads the entire pack of potential GOP contenders, where she has a 46 percent to 41 percent lead over Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the closest likely GOP hopeful in that state.

Paul also performs the best against Clinton in Pennsylvania, where he holds a 45 percent to 44 percent lead over the former secretary of State. Clinton leads all other GOP contenders in the state.

The Quinnipiac University poll of 1,087 Florida voters, 1,077 Ohio voters, and 1,0336 Pennsylvania voters has a 3-percentage-point margin of error.