Poll: Clinton sweeps 2016 Republican field in battleground state Ohio

HAMDEN, Conn., Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton swept a 2016 field of Republicans in hypothetical presidential match-ups in Ohio, a Quinnipiac poll indicated.

Clinton tops New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie 49 percent to 36 percent in an early look at 2016 presidential race scenarios in the battleground state, results released Thursday by the independent Quinnipiac University poll indicated.

Across the board, Ohioans said they favored Clinton over other potential GOP contenders -- including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Ohio voters, by a 55 percent-to-39 percent margin, said they though Clinton would make a good president, the Hamden, Conn., university poll said. No Republican, including Kasich, received a positive score on the question, pollsters said.

Ohioans gave President Barack Obama a negative job approval rating, 40 percent positive and 55 percent negative -- an improvement on his negative 34 percent-to-61 percent rating in a November Quinnipiac poll, his lowest score ever in the Buckeye state.

Results are based on a phone survey of 1,370 registered Ohio voters conducted Feb. 12-17. The margin of error is 2.7 percentage points.