Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump leads two of his 2016 GOP rivals in their respective home states ahead of the all-important March 15 contests in Florida and Ohio, according to polling released Wednesday.
Mr. Trump had a 16-point lead over Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida, 40 percent to 24 percent, with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at 19 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 5 percent, according to the CNN/ORC poll.
Mr. Trump also had a 6-point lead over Mr. Kasich in Ohio, 41 percent to 35 percent, with Mr. Cruz at 15 percent and Mr. Rubio at 7 percent.
Both states are winner-take-all, and victories by Mr. Trump would be gigantic blows to the campaigns of Mr. Rubio and Mr. Kasich. The billionaire businessman picked up three more wins this week, in Michigan, Mississippi, and Hawaii, while Mr. Cruz notched a win in Idaho.
On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had big leads over Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont in each state. She led Mr. Sanders by a 63 percent to 33 percent margin in Ohio and a 61 percent to 34 percent margin in Florida.
Mrs. Clinton won Mississippi on Tuesday, but Mr. Sanders scored an upset victory in Michigan. The final RealClearPolitics polling average on Michigan had Mrs. Clinton ahead by about 21 points.
In general election match-ups, Mrs. Clinton had a 7-point lead over Mr. Trump in Ohio, a 9-point lead over Mr. Cruz, and a 2-point lead over Mr. Rubio.
In Florida, she led Mr. Trump by 7 points but trailed Mr. Rubio by 4 points and trailed Mr. Cruz by 1 point.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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