Hillary leads Christie in early Pa. 2016 poll

Hillary Clinton has a strong early grip on Pennsylvania, with an 11-point lead over her closest potential Republican opponent in the state, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, according to Quinnipiac University polls of three swing states released Tuesday.

Clinton was tied with Gov. John Kasich (R) in his home state of Ohio, and also was running even in Florida with that state's former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, the polls found.

Since 1960, no candidate has won the White House without carrying at least two of the three states.

Christie does the best of any Republican in hypothetical matchups with Clinton, but she still leads the neighboring celebrity governor 50 percent to 39 percent. The former secretary of state and former first lady performs strongly among women voters in Pennsylvania, leading Christie 57 percent to 34 percent among this group, the poll found.

"Clinton has the closest thing to rock star ratings a politician can get in America today," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll.  "Pennsylvania, which just elected a Democratic governor, is shaping up early in the campaign season as the bluest of the swing states."

Other potential matchups in Pennsylvania: Clinton leads Bush 50 percent to 35 percent; 53 percent to 34 percent over Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R); 54 to 34 percent over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum; and 54 percent to 34 percent over former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

In Ohio, native son Kasich, who is exploring a campaign, gives Clinton a run for her money – getting 43 percent support from registered voters, to 44 percent for Clinton, a virtual tie. She leads Bush in the Buckeye State, 47 percent to 36 percent.

In Florida, Clinton leads Bush 44 percent to 43 percent at this point, the poll found.

"Although history suggests that once she becomes a full-fledged candidate and part of the nastiness that comes with politics these days [her] numbers may drop some," said Peter A. Brown, an assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "She begins the campaign in very strong shape with voters - and not just Democrats," Brown said. "In the three big swing states she is getting 86 to 93 percent of Democrats, 36 to 54 percent of independent voters and even up to 15 percent of Republicans."

Results are based on live telephone interviews, by cell and landline, with 881 Pennsylvania voters, for a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points; 943 Ohio voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points; and 936 Florida voters, for a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Interviews were conducted from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1.