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CNN: 'Big Signs of Clinton Weaknesses' in Swing State Polls

June 17, 2015

CNN's "Inside Politics" panel discussed Hillary Clinton's "big signs of weaknesses" Wednesday morning on New Day, citing new Quinnipiac polls showing high margins of distrust among voters in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio:

In Florida, 51% of voters hold the negative view of Clinton, compared to 43% who feel she is trustworthy. In Ohio, 53% of voters find Clinton not trustworthy, compared to 40% who do. And in Pennsylvania, 54% of voters don't find her honest, while 40% do.

Compounding the possible issue for Clinton, being honest and trustworthy is also the top issue to voters in all three early states.

Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the poll, said that Clinton is experiencing a "continuing slide" with how she is "perceived by voters who continue to say she is not honest and trustworthy."

This follows up a CNN poll released earlier this month showing 57 percent of voters overall did not find Clinton honest and trustworthy.

"They say in every one of these states that honesty and trustworthiness of the candidate is more important to them than their positions on any specific issue," host John King said.

"We've zeroed in on this weakness of Hillary's before on this program, and it is, I think, much more important than these hypothetical matchups state-by-state," said Yahoo! reporter Olivier Knox. "The underlying numbers for Hillary are more problematic ... She also has trouble with some of the empathy numbers, where people are not sure that they understand their concerns."

Clinton also trailed Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich in his home state by seven points 47-40, and she was behind Sens. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Rand Paul (R., Ky.) by one point when matched up against them in Pennsylvania. Clinton held a 47-44 lead against Rubio in Florida, his home state.

"This looks like a very, very competitive general election," King said.