Quinnipiac Poll: Clinton Loses Ground on Morals, Honesty in Swing States

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had lost serious ground to her GOP rival, Donald Trump, in three major swing states following a hit to her ratings on moral standards and honesty, according to a new Quinnipiac University survey, but pollsters said there appears to be no "definite link" between the drop in honesty points and the U.S. Justice Department's decision not to prosecute her over her use of a private email server while secretary of state.

According to the new poll, released early Wednesday morning, Clinton and trump are in a dead heat in Ohio, while Trump leads her in Florida and Pennsylvania in numbers that show a definite drop since the last poll on June 21:

Florida: Trump 42-39 percent, compared to 47-39 percent for Clinton on June 21;
Ohio: Clinton 41 - Trump 41, compared to a 40-40 percent tie on June 21;
Pennsylvania: Trump 43-41 percent, compared to Clinton, 42-41 percent on June 21.

The poll focuses on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, because no candidate has won the presidency since 1960 without winning at least two of the three states. 

When third-party candidates added in, Trump continued to hold a lead in all three states:

Florida: Trump over Clinton 41-36 percent, with 7 percent for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 4 percent for Green Party candidate Jill Stein;
Ohio: Trump, 37-36 percent, with Johnson at 7 percent and Stein at 6 percent;
Pennsylvania: Trump, 40 - 34 percent with 9 percent for Johnson and 3 percent for Stein.

"While there is no definite link between Clinton's drop in Florida and the U.S. Justice Department decision not to prosecute her for her handling of e-mails, she has lost ground to Trump on questions which measure moral standards and honesty," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

In state breakdowns:

Florida:
Men: Trump, 50-29 percent;
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