Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has lost support in the key swing states of Colorado, Iowa and Virginia, and she now trails leading Republican contenders in those states, said a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.
Mrs. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential front-runner, had a negative 35 percent/56 percent favorable/unfavorable split in Colorado, a 33 percent/56 percent favorable/unfavorable split in Iowa and a 41 percent/50 percent split in Virginia.
Those are all trending downward from several months ago. In April, she had a 41 percent/51 percent favorable/unfavorable split in Colorado, and a positive 48 percent/45 percent split in Virginia. Her favorability has dropped double digits in Iowa since April, when she was at a 45 percent/47 percent favorable/unfavorable split.
“Hillary Clinton’s numbers have dropped among voters in the key swing states of Colorado, Iowa and Virginia. She has lost ground in the horserace and on key questions about her honesty and leadership,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. “On being a strong leader, a key metric in presidential campaigns, she has dropped four to 10 points depending on the state and she is barely above 50 percent in each of the three states.”
“Against three Republicans, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Secretary Clinton trails in six matchups and is on the down side of too-close-to call in three,” Mr. Brown said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has emerged as Mrs. Clinton’s leading challenger on the Democratic side, actually runs better than the former secretary of state against Mr. Rubio and Mr. Bush in Iowa and better than her against Mr. Walker in Colorado. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. trails in all his match-ups with the GOP contenders, but comes within 4 points of Mr. Rubio and Mr. Walker in Virginia, where he trails Mr. Bush by 5 points.
“That’s compared to the April 9 Quinnipiac University poll in which she was clearly ahead in five of the matchups and too-close-to-call in the other four,” Mr. Brown said. “One other key takeaway is that Vice President Joseph Biden, who is considering a 2016 run, does better than Clinton on honesty and on caring about voter needs, always a key Democratic strong point.”
Colorado voters, by a 62 percent to 34 percent margin, said Mrs. Clinton is not honest and trustworthy and by a 57 percent to 39 percent margin said she does not care about their needs and problems. Fifty-two percent of voters there do think she has strong leadership qualities.
“Hillary Clinton’s numbers on honesty and trust may border on abysmal but Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the GOP front runner, is still battling a name recognition handicap,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. “Do Colorado voters trust Hillary? No, they do not. Do they think she cares about their needs? No they do not. So the door is open to a GOP candidate voters can believe in.”
By a 59 percent to 33 percent margin, Iowa voters said she is not honest and trustworthy, and by a 55 percent to 39 percent margin said she does not care about their needs and problems. Again, a slight majority — 52 percent to 43 percent — said she is a strong leader.
In Virginia, voters said she is not honest and trustworthy by a 55 percent to 39 percent margin. Fifty percent of voters said she cares about their needs and problems compared to 45 percent who said she does not. And by a 54 percent to 42 percent margin, voters there said she is a strong leader.
From July 9-20 Quinnipiac University surveyed:
• 1,231 Colorado voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points;
• 1,236 Iowa voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points;
• 1,209 Virginia voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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