Poll: Trump leads swing states of Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania

Donald Trump continues to lead the Republican presidential contest, not just in early contests states like Iowa and New Hampshire, but in the key swing states of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

A new Quinnipiac University Poll illustrates Trump's leads in those latter three states, two of which are homes to Republican opponents Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich.

“Those who were waiting for Donald Trump’s campaign to collapse will need to wait longer, at least in the three key states of Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

In Florida, Trump leads with 28%, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 16%. Rubio, a U.S. senator from the Sunshine State, is third at 14%. Bush, a former governor of Florida, is fourth at 12%, followed by businesswoman Carly Fiorina (7%) and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (6%).

The Quinnipiac Poll in Ohio puts Trump first at 23%, with Carson second at 18%. Kasich, the sitting governor of Ohio, is third at 13%, followed by Cruz (11%), Fiorina (10%), Rubio (7%), and Bush (4%).

In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac has Trump at 23%, Carson at 17%, and Rubio at 12%, followed by Fiorina (8%), Cruz (6%), and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (5%). Bush and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee are both at 4%.

In analyzing the poll, Quinnipiac's Brown noted that Fiorina and Carson -- "the other two outsider candidates in the GOP race -- also "seem to be making progress. But Bush, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas seem to be treading water."