Latinos comprise 23.6 percent of Florida's population, higher than the national average of 17.1 percent, and it's a rate Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton may desperately need come Election Day 2016.

According to Quinnipiac University's latest poll in Florida, Clinton trailed against several of the Republican presidential candidates. In a hypothetical match against former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, polling all ethnicities, he attracted 49 percent to the former secretary of state's 38 percent.

The double-digit gap continued in the next hypothetical match against Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. The Cuban-American senator received 51 percent to Clinton's 39 percent.

Real estate businessman Donald Trump, who held no political office in Florida unlike Bush and Rubio, defeated Clinton, but in a much narrower margin. Trump received 43 percent, ahead of Clinton's 41 percent.

"Hillary Clinton's poll numbers are like a leaky faucet: drip...drip... drip. She is now getting less than half the vote in all three states' Democratic primaries," said Quinnipiac University Poll Assistant Director Peter A. Brown, taking into account polling data in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

"Perhaps most telling is how poorly she scores when all voters in these three key states are asked about her empathy, honesty and temperament. In Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania she averages a negative 37 - 55 percent favorability. Donald Trump is in the same leaky boat, averaging a negative 34 - 53 percent favorability."

Within the Democratic Party field, Clinton was still the popular choice with 48 percent, ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Vice President Joe Biden, receiving 15 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

Bush and Rubio also defeated Sanders by significant double-digit margins.

In the Republican presidential field, the percentage gap was narrower compared to the Democrats. Trump led the GOP field with 21 percent, ahead of Bush's 17 percent and 11 percent for both Rubio and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

"In the battle of Floridians, former Gov. Jeb Bush is holding off U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, and the former mentor to Rubio scores higher when voters rate the two men's personal qualities," Brown said.

In Ohio, Clinton' gained some momentum. She defeated Bush with 41 percent to 39 percent. Against Trump, Clinton received 43 percent to 38 percent. The former secretary of state, however, lost against Rubio, 40 percent to 42 percent, respectively.

Current Ohio Gov. John Kasich could damper the rest of the GOP field as he received most support from Republican voters, while Trump fell to second but Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, improved and tied to third place.

In Pennsylvania, just as Florida, Bush and Rubio once against defeated Clinton. The former Florida governor garnered 43 percent to Clinton's 40 percent in Pennsylvania. Rubio's margin of victory was better than Bush, and the Florida senator defeated the former New York senator with 47 percent to 40 percent, respectively. Clinton did manage to top Trump, 45 percent to 40 percent.

In Florida, Quinnipiac polled 1,093 Florida voters, mostly Republicans than Democrats -- 477 to 345, respectively. In Ohio, 1,096 people were surveyed, slightly higher than the 1,085 Pennsylvanians polled.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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