Poll Shows Good Signs For Ohio Democrats

Remember, it is early.

clipped from columbus.bizjournals.com On the heels of their health-care reform victory, Democrats can take some comfort in the results of a closely watched Ohio poll by Quinnipiac University. The Connecticut school’s survey of 1,526 Ohio voters, conducted March 23, found Gov. Ted Strickland with 43 percent support for his reelection bid, while presumptive Republican challenger John Kasich had 38 percent support. That’s virtually unchanged from Strickland’s 44-39 lead in February, but a more comfortable margin than dead-heat results in earlier polls. To download full details of the latest poll, click here.

In the race to replace Republican Ohio Sen. George Voinovich in the U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov Lee Fisher and primary challenger Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner each pulled ahead of presumptive Republican nominee Rob Portman after trailing in an earlier poll. In a hypothetical match-up, Fisher defeated Portman 41-37 and Brunner nudged past with a 38-37 lead.

Peter Brown, assistant director of Quinnipiac’s polling institute, said in a release that the results point to firmer ground for Democrats in Ohio. Still, Quinnipiac recommended Dems take the good news with a grain of salt with several months to go before the November election.

“Perhaps it’s the passage of the health-care overhaul and the fact that people like being with a winner: There has been a small, but consistent movement toward Democratic candidates and causes in Ohio in the last month,” he said. “Whether this is the beginning of a long-term move or not won’t be clear for some time, perhaps until November.”

Regardless of how much the passage of the health-care overhaul boosted Democrats in Ohio, half of all voters in the state said they opposed the plan, while 43 percent supported it. But that’s down from 55 percent opposition and 36 percent support in November.

President Barack Obama’s job approval rating improved to a near split – 47 percent approval and 48 percent disapproval. In a November poll, 55 percent of voters gave the president a thumbs-down and 36 percent said they approved of the job he was doing.

As for the state’s leader, a deeper look at Strickland’s performance in the poll painted a shakier picture of his reelection bid despite an edge over Kasich, Quinnipiac said. Roughly half of all surveyed voters gave the governor a thumbs-down on his handling of the state budget and the economy, “worrisome signs for an incumbent,” Brown said.