US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at a round-table campaign event with small businesses in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on May 19. REUTERS/Jim Young Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is trailing three Republican presidential candidates in three key swing states, according to a new set of polls released Wednesday morning by Quinnipiac University.

In Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia, the Democratic front-runner Clinton is behind former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, and US Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida in theoretical general-election matchups.

Rubio and Walker outpace Clinton by as much as 9 points in those states. Another Democratic candidate, US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), runs close to or outpaces Clinton in the matchups with Rubio, Walker, and Bush.

Here's the breakdown:

Bush leads Clinton 41-36 in Colorado; 42-36 in Iowa; and 42-39 in Virginia.

Walker leads Clinton 47-38 in Colorado; 45-37 in Iowa; and 43-40 in Virginia.

Rubio leads Clinton 46-38 in Colorado; 44-36 in Iowa; and 43-41 in Virginia.

Clinton had led those candidates in the three states in a set of Quinnipiac polls released in April. All three are key swing states that President Barack Obama captured in the 2008 and 2012 elections and that Republicans will be looking to turn red in 2016.

Clinton has hinted that she views this trio of Republican candidates as her likely opponents in the general election. During a sweeping economic speech in New York last week, she took jabs at each candidate's policies.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, a Republican presidential candidate, at the Maverick PAC conference on Friday in Las Vegas. AP

The percentage of voters in the three states who view Clinton as "honest and trustworthy" has plunged: By more than 25-point margins, most voters in Colorado and Iowa say she is not honest and trustworthy. The split is still negative, though less so, in Virginia. A breakdown:

In Colorado, voters say she is not honest and trustworthy by a 62-34 split.

In Iowa, voters say she is not honest and trustworthy by a 59-33 split.

In Virginia, voters say she is not honest and trustworthy by a 55-39 split.

Voters in all three states also view her decidedly unfavorably — by splits of 35-56 in Colorado, 33-56 in Iowa, and 41-50 in Virginia.

A majority of voters in all three states say she does "not care about their needs and problems." And her ratings as a "strong leader" have also dipped, though they are still over the key 50% threshold.

"Hillary Clinton's numbers have dropped among voters in the key swing states of Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia," Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll, said in a statement. "She has lost ground in the horse race and on key questions about her honesty and leadership.

"On being a strong leader, a key metric in presidential campaigns, she has dropped 4 to 10 points depending on the state, and she is barely above 50% in each of the three states."