Donovan Slack

USA TODAY

Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s presidential campaign, faced with a poll Tuesday showing he is losing to Trump in his home state, said that at least he isn’t doing as poorly as Marco Rubio is in his home state of Florida.

“A new poll this morning shows John Kasich within the margin of error against Donald Trump in Ohio. Meanwhile, Senator Rubio is significantly behind Trump in Florida,” the campaign said in a blog post.

The Ohio poll conducted by Quinnipiac University found Kasich trailing Trump 31% to 26% among likely Republican primary voters. The margin of error is +/-3.6 percentage points, meaning Kasich is within the margin. (Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas had 21%, Rubio had 13%.)

The polls Kasich points to in Florida show Trump trouncing Rubio 40%-13.7% on average, according to RealClearPolitics. Cruz also bests Rubio with 19% on average. (Kasich is at 2.3% in the Florida polling average)

“Winning the nomination requires a candidate who is in a strong position to carry the state that knows them best, and Kasich is in a far better position to do that than Senator Rubio,” Kasich’s campaign said in its post.

Of course, all that spin doesn't really address the overwhelming dominance of Trump himself. Winning the nomination also requires beating him. And right now, he is leading polling averages in both states — and in nearly every single one of the roughly dozen or so states scheduled to have primaries next week on Super Tuesday. (Cruz beats him 37%-28% in his home state of Texas, and 27%-23% in Arkansas.)

Donald Trump edges John Kasich in new Ohio primary poll

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