Trump may lead his party in the polls, but he doesn't fare well against Democrats

If Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination, things might not be looking so bad for Democrats. A new Quinnipiac University poll out Wednesday reveals that while The Donald still leads his party's primaries in the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, he doesn't fare nearly as well against Democrats in hypothetical match-ups. Against all three Democrats that Quinnipiac tested — Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Joe Biden, who has not announced a presidential run — Trump loses in a hypothetical general election face-off.
"Trump, despite his strong showing in mock Republican primaries, fares worst among the GOP candidates matched against the three Democratic aspirants — giving some credence to pundits who say the billionaire could be every Democrats' favorite GOP nominee," Quinnipiac assistant director Peter Brown said in a statement. Against Clinton, Trump loses 46 percent to 41 percent in Florida, 43 percent to 42 percent in Ohio, and 44 percent to 42 percent in Pennsylvania.
And those are Trump's closest margins against the Democrats. In a match-up with Biden, Trump loses 46-42 in Florida, 46-37 in Ohio, and 45-42 in Pennsylvania. Sanders beats out Trump by five percentage points in Florida and Pennsylvania and by three percentage points in Ohio.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The survey's margin of error in Florida and Ohio is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. In Pennsylvania, it's plus or minus three percentage points.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Political cartoons for October 20
Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include a $40 billion bailout for Argentina, Prince Andrew's titles, chaos at the CDC, and more
-
From Da Vinci to a golden toilet: a history of museum heists
In the Spotlight Following the ‘spectacular’ events at the Louvre, museums are ‘increasingly being targeted by criminal gangs’
-
Can Gen Z uprisings succeed where other protest movements failed?
Today's Big Question Apolitical and leaderless, youth-led protests have real power but are vulnerable to the strongman opportunist
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections