Hillary Clinton is now behind or tied with most major Republican hopefuls in three critical swing states, according to a Quinnipiac University poll out Thursday.
Her closest competitor in the poll – Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky – had an edge over Clinton in both Colorado and Iowa.
Paul led Clinton 44-41 in Colorado. In February, Clinton led Paul there by 43-41.
Paul also led Clinton in Iowa, 43-42. In February, she led him in a hypothetical general election matchup 45-37.
Clinton held her edge and increased the margin in Virginia, now up 47-43 over Paul. In February, she led 44-42 there.
Besides Paul, Clinton fell behind or was tied with most of the Republican competitors including Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
Though her position in the race has changed since the February poll, the movement of numbers suggests a toll on Clinton from recent headlines more than an improving opinion of her competitors.
For example, 56 percent of Colorado voters said she is not honest or trustworthy, and 51 percent said her e-mail controversy is “very important” or “somewhat important” in their 2016 vote. But the Colorado voters also said they would consider the Congressional investigation of the e-mails a politically motivated move.
“Hillary Clinton still has a mountain or two to climb to win the hearts of Coloradans, who don’t trust her,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, in a press release. “The E-mail controversy is opening doors to candidates who had little traction as Hillary Clinton gets bad numbers on trust and honesty.”