Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker leads the pack of likely Republican voters in Pennsylvania for the 2016 GOP nomination, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.
The poll of three key swing states finds that no candidate holds a lead in more than one state — though Walker is the second choice in Florida and Ohio, making him the man to beat among potential GOP nominees.
In Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush leads the pack with 24 percent of the vote, but he has seen his lead slip from 32 percent last month. Walker, the runner up, takes 15 percent.
In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich is the choice of 20 percent of voters. There is a three-way tie for second, with Walker, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee each holding at 9 percent.
“Gov. Scott Walker continues to be the surprise in the early part of the 2016 campaign. We’ve got a long way to go till Iowans caucus next winter, but the Wisconsin governor has climbed into the first tier of contenders along with establishment favorite Jeb Bush, who can’t be happy with his numbers today,” said Peter A. Brown assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the only candidate to formally announce his intention to run for president sits in the back of the pack in all three states.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is also not faring well with only 1 percent in Florida, and 5 percent in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In Pennsylvania, Bush remains tied with socially conservative former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Quinnipiac University pollsters surveyed voters in three so-called swing state whose electorate could influence the outcome of the presidential election. Since 1960, no candidate has won the presidency without winning two of the three.
