Big Clinton lead in Ohio, Quinnipiac poll says

Hillary Clinton enters the final three weeks before the Ohio primary with a lead of 21 percentage points over Barack Obama, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday morning.

It also shows that whoever presumptive GOP nominee John McCain faces this fall, it could be a very close race in Ohio, which will be a critical state for both party nominees.

Quinnipiac, which polls key presidential campaign states, 564 likely Democratic voters between Feb. 6 and this Tuesday, and the results were good news for a Clinton campaign that could use some: 55 percent of Clinton, 34 percent for Obama, with only nine percent undecided.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

The same poll surveyed 1,748 likely Ohio voters and showed a statistical dead heat in head-to-head match-ups with both Obama and Clinton. It showed McCain with 44 percent to 43 percent for Clinton. In a match-up with Obama, McCain took 42 percent to 40 percent for the Illinois senator.

Read the full poll here

Reaction:

From the McCain campaign:

Senator John McCain wins general election matchups versus Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, the two Democrats remaining in a protracted battle for their party's nomination, according to a Quinnipiac poll released today.

"Ohioans are already rejecting the irresponsible tax-and-spend policies promoted by Senator Obama and Senator Clinton," said Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine. "The Democrats will promise us the world, but they will only deliver higher taxes and out-of-control spending."

"The differences couldn't be clearer: Senator McCain has a long record of fighting to restrain spending and keep taxes low while the Democrats talk about going after people's wages to pay for their budget-busting plans."