Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump took the lead in recent swing state polls published on Wednesday in battleground states.
The New Yorker leads presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Florida, Pennsylvania and is tied with her in Ohio, but he is winning with Independent voters in all three battleground states.
“Donald Trump enters the Republican Convention on a small roll in the three most important swing states in the country. He has wiped out Hillary Clinton’s lead in Florida; is on the upside of too-close to call races in Florida and Pennsylvania and is locked in a dead heat in Ohio,” stated Quinnipiac University poll assistant director Peter A. Brown. “While there is no definite link between Clinton’s drop in Florida and the U.S. Justice Department decision not to prosecute her for her handling of e-mails, she has lost ground to Trump on questions which measure moral standards and honesty.”
The new Quinnipiac University poll, which examined swing states, reveals that in Pennsylvania, Trump is up two points over Clinton, 43 percent to 41 percent. In June, Clinton led Trump by one point. With a third party candidate added, Trump’s lead over Clinton increases by six points, 40 percent to 34 percent. Nine percent support Libertarian Gary Johnson while three percent support the Green Party’s Jill Stein.
In Florida, Trump leads by three points with 42 percent to Clinton’s 39 percent. Clinton held an eight point lead over Trump in the sunshine state in June. With a third party candidate, Trump leads Clinton by five points. Seven percent support Johnson, while four percent support Stein.
In Ohio, Trump and Clinton are tied at 41 percent. The two were also tied last month at 40 percent. With a third party candidate factored in, Trump leads Clinton by one point in Ohio. Johnson scored seven percent support compared to Stein’s three percent.
According to the results, voters in each swing state agreed with the statement: “The old way of doing things no longer works and we need radical change.”
The voters also widely agreed that trade agreements have hurt their family finances.
Although Trump’s rhetoric on trade appeals to the wide margin of voters, they still think Clinton is more prepared to be president and more intelligent than the billionaire. However, they believe Trump is more honest and trustworthy than Clinton.
The interviews were conducted with registered voters in the three battleground states over the phone from June 30 to July 11. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent for the Florida and Pennsylvania polls. The margin of error for the Ohio poll is plus or minus 3.2 percent.