A new swing state poll brings good news for Hillary Clinton

A new poll puts presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton ahead of — or neck and neck with — Republican Donald Trump in several key swing states.

The poll, conducted by Quinnipiac University, gives Clinton an 8 percentage point lead over Trump in Florida (47-39), as well as a tie in Ohio (40-40) and a minor lead in Pennsylvania (42-41). The Ohio and Pennsylvania results are both within the margin of error.

RealClearPolitics, which aggregates findings from multiple surveys, puts Clinton at a lead of 2.7 points in Ohio and a lead of 0.5 points in Pennsylvania — still good news for the Clinton campaign.

The poll found that voters in each state believe Clinton to have higher moral standards, to be more intelligent, and to be better prepared than Trump to be president.

Voters were divided on whether they find Trump to be more honest and trustworthy than Clinton. However, they said he would do a better job at creating jobs and combating terrorism.

Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, said that Trump’s disconnect with the Republican Party and recent remarks have hurt his numbers.

"The at-times bitter verbal battles between Trump and some Republican leaders is showing in these numbers," Brown said in remarks released with the poll. "In these three key states, Clinton is doing better, and in the case of Florida much better, among Democrats than Trump is among Republicans. Traditionally GOP presidential candidates score better on this party loyalty test."

According to Brown, Trump’s comments on Judge Gonzalo Curiel and people of Mexican heritage are likely to blame for his low numbers in Florida, which has a larger Hispanic population than the other two states.

Voters in all three states overwhelmingly agreed that Trump’s remarks about Curiel were racist "by wide margins."

When asked about the Quinnipiac poll, Trump told Fox News that his poor performance was the result of being "hammered by the dishonest media."

How Clinton’s nomination could improve politics

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