TRUMP’S GOT PROBLEMS, BUT SO DOES HILLARY: Clinton struggling in some reliably blue states.

Despite an increasing lead over businessman Donald Trump in head-to-head matchups, presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is struggling to connect in some reliably blue states.

Washington Post authors Philip Rucker and John Wagner report that there’s concern among Clinton supporters who believe Trump might do well in three Rust Belt states: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“In Michigan, Pennsylvania and, to a lesser extent, Wisconsin, an affinity for Trump’s message of economic populism and nationalism has surprised many Democrats,” Rucker and Wagner wrote. “These are big, industrial states they have carried for the past three decades — and where Clinton, so far, has not fully focused.”

In Pennsylvania, Clinton and Trump are in a statistical tie, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages. In Michigan, Trump closed the gap between the two candidates considerably once he became the GOP nominee, and now trails Clinton by just 4 points (though the last poll was taken at the end of May). . . .

Even in swing states where Clinton’s campaign is more confident, the polls aren’t much better. Clinton leads Trump by 3.5 points in Florida and nearly 3 points in Ohio.

Stay tuned. Related: Right-Wing Populism Is Prevailing in Left-Wing Strongholds Around the World. “It’s a problem for Democrats. They are a lot more dependent on the Northern white working class than the prevailing narrative of recent electoral contests tends to acknowledge. Northern working-class whites represent a larger share of the electorate than generally believed, and Democrats have been winning a larger share of them than has been typically understood.”