--- title: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Tied in Key State Polls description: The first general election poll shows Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tied in the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. canonical: https://time.com/4324284/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-polls-ohio-pennsylvania-florida/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-10T14:46:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:50:32.457Z article:section: Politics og:title: Clinton, Trump Tied in Three Key States og:description: Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. og:url: https://time.com/4324284/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-polls-ohio-pennsylvania-florida/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0dcba1c654803c4/69889121e20a871afaa90a0a/trump-clinton1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: trump-clinton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Clinton, Trump Tied in Three Key States twitter:description: Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0dcba1c654803c4/69889121e20a871afaa90a0a/trump-clinton1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Tied in Three Key States > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f2821c96-f6fb-4363-8364-305e6d9a6bce&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: CNN: Clinton Says Trump Is a 'Loose Cannon' [Watch (HLS stream): CNN: Clinton Says Trump Is a 'Loose Cannon'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VhJEIN13.m3u8) (2:25)  _Published 2016-05-05. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton on Wednesday began her play for Republican and independent voters, after Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropped out of the race, making Donald Trump the presumptive Republican nominee._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller May 10, 2016 2:46 PM UTC Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton on Wednesday began her play for Republican and independent voters, after Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropped out of the race, making Donald Trump the presumptive Republican nominee. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller May 10, 2016 2:46 PM UTC The first battleground state general election polls are upon us and **Hillary Clinton** and **Donald Trump** are neck-and-neck in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida in a new Quinnipiac University survey. Both candidates are viewed unfavorably—to a historic degree—and are underwater on almost every key metric, from trustworthiness to “cares about people like you.” While it’s still _very_ early to draw conclusions about the general election, the poll reveals a massive gender split and a wide racial gap in the three states, setting the stage for a bitter campaign this fall. **Ted Cruz** may be out of the GOP presidential race, but his supporters make up a large bloc of convention delegates and he intends to exert his influence. Cruz backers are organizing to maintain control over the rules and platform committees, ostensibly to maintain conservative planks. But in controlling the committees, the Cruz backers could cause all sorts of trouble for the presumptive nominee. Meanwhile, Trump’s feud with a leading evangelical leader revealed a split in the conservative religious community over the GOP standard-bearer. Clinton’s campaign strategy is to be boring but serious campaign speeches and policy proposals, as she looks to contrast with the bombast and insults of her GOP rival. But in an election year where both candidates are well defined, Clinton will have to do more to convince her harder-to-turn-out base to go to the polls: capitalizing on their fear of Trump. Clinton’s super PAC plots a troll army. London’s new mayor fires a shot at Trump. And Jon Stewart is back. Here are your must-reads: **Must Reads** [Donald Trump’s Feud With Evangelical Leader Reveals Fault Lines ](http://time.com/4323009/donald-trump-southern-baptist-russell-moore-evangelicals-christianity/?xid=tcoshare)The Conservative evangelical movement is divided like the GOP, TIME’s Elizabeth Dias writes [Ryan Says He Would Step Down as Convention Chair If Trump Asks ](http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/ryan-says-he-would-step-down-as-convention-chair-if-trump-asks-b99721843z1-378661491.html?utm%5Fcontent=buffer52861&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fsource=twitter.com&utm%5Fcampaign=buffer)Believes GOP unity is possible with time \[Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel\] [Ted Cruz Backers Seek to Control Convention Platform ](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/09/ted-cruz-backers-seek-to-control-convention-platform/)Cruz maintains large blocs on key committees, and he’s going to use them \[New York Times\] [Be Nice to Hillary Clinton Online — or Risk a Confrontation With Her Super PAC ](http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-clinton-digital-trolling-20160506-snap-htmlstory.html)Clinton backers invest in trolling \[LA Times\] [How Hillary Clinton Plans to Win Through Boredom ](http://time.com/4323975/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-boredom)It’s boor vs bore \[TIME\] [How Donald Trump Is Running to the Left of Hillary Clinton ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-donald-trump-is-running-to-the-left-of-hillary-clinton/2016/05/09/ebde82da-147c-11e6-8967-7ac733c56f12%5Fstory.html)Praising Sanders, Trump seeks to chip away at Clinton’s base \[Washington Post\] **Sound Off** “I’m going to let him run his campaign however he chooses. I’m going to run my campaign.” — Hillary Clinton to reporters Monday repeatedly declining to address Trump’s charge that she “enabled” her husband’s treatment of women “There will always be exceptions.” — Donald Trump to the New York Times on his call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. **Bits and Bites** [London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Religious Extremism, Brexit and Donald Trump](http://time.com/4322562/london-mayor-sadiq-khan-donald-trump/?xid=tcoshare) \[TIME\] [Police Report Reflects the Ugliness of the Trump Era](https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2016/05/09/police-report-reflects-the-ugliness-of-the-trump-era/?postshare=9221462812467804&tid=ss%5Ftw) \[Washington Post\] [Former ‘Stop Trump’ Megadonor Switches Sides](http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/05/stanley-hubbard-donald-trump-great-america-pac-222981) \[Politico\] [Ted Cruz at a Crossroads as He Returns to the Senate](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/us/politics/ted-cruz-at-a-crossroads-as-he-returns-to-the-senate.html?%5Fr=0) \[New York Times\] [A Q&A with John Weaver, Chief Strategist Behind the John Kasich Presidential Campaign](http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2016/05/a%5Fqa%5Fwith%5Fjohn%5Fweaver%5Fchief%5Fst.html) \[Cleveland.com\] [Donald Trump, in Switch, Turns to Republican Party for Fund-Raising Help](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/us/politics/donald-trump-campaign.html?em%5Fpos=medium&emc=edit%5Fcn%5F20160510&nl=first-draft&nl%5Fart=0&nlid=55003713&ref=headline&te=1) \[New York Times\] [The Real Ben Rhodes: Spin Doctor or Decision-Maker?](http://time.com/4324019/ben-rhodes-national-security-barack-obama/) \[TIME\] [Donald Trump Says Sadiq Khan, New London Mayor, Could Be Exception to His Muslim Ban](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/09/donald-trump-says-new-london-mayor-could-be-exception-to-his-ban-on-muslims/) \[New York Times\] [Jon Stewart Goes on Rant Against ‘Man-Baby’ Trump](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/jon-stewart-donald-trump-222971) \[Politico\] ## Transcript [00:01] I think he is a loose cannon, and loose cannons tend to [00:04] misfire .>> Hillary Clinton says shes ready to take on [00:06] Donald Trump in the general election. Brushing off his [00:08] crooked Hillary moniker and repeatedly calling him a [00:12] loose cannon. I've seen the presidency up close from [00:16] two different perspectives and I think I know what it [00:18] takes. And I don't think we can take a risk on a loose [00:21] cannon like Donald Trump running our country. Donald [00:25] Trump has said it's okay for other countries to get [00:28] nuclear weapons. I think that's just downright [00:30] dangerous. But elsewhere, Clinton is treading more [00:33] lightly. Declining to say whether she agrees with this [00:35] tweet from Senator Elizabeth Warren. Saying Trump [00:38] quote, built his campaign on racism, sexism, and [00:41] xenophobia. I think Elizabeth Warren's really smart. [00:44] [ LAUGH ] You agree with all those things. I think that [00:48] anybody who's listened to him and how he's talked [00:53] certainly can draw that conclusion. Do you think he's a [00:54] racist? i'm going to let people judge for themselves. [00:58] Clinton also seems unphased by Trump's more [01:00] personal barbs. He's made references to your [01:04] marriage, to your husband. [ LAUGH ] Are you [01:06] prepared? Well, he's not the first one, Anderson. I just [01:10] can't say this often enough If he wants to go back to [01:14] the playbook of the 1990s, if he wants to follow in the [01:17] footsteps of those who have tried to knock me down [01:21] and take me out of the political arena, I'm more than [01:24] happy to have him do that. You're ready for that. [01:27] Please, I mean, look This is, [01:31] to me, a classic case of a blustering, bullying [01:35] guy who has knocked out of the way all the [01:39] Republicans because they were just dumbfounded. [01:41] And fresh off his Indiana primary victory over Clinton, [01:44] Bernie Sanders is also criticizing Trump's abrasive [01:47] campaign tactics at his rally last night. I know that [01:50] there is a lot of nervousness around this Country that [01:54] Donald Trump may become president. [ NOISE ] [02:03] Ain't gonna happen. [ APPLAUSE ] The [02:07] American people will never elect a candidate who [02:11] insults people every single day in incredibly [02:15] ugly ways. 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