Poll: Few think about presidential race

Only 26 percent of those polled said they'd given the race 'a lot' of thought.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The presidential primary in Ohio is less than a year away, but a poll of registered voters in the state shows the election isn't on their radar screens.
When asked how much thought they have given to potential and declared presidential candidates, 42 percent said "some," 20 percent said "not much," and 12 percent said "none at all."
Only 26 percent said "a lot," according to an Ohio Poll, released Wednesday by the University of Cincinnati's Institute for Policy Research.
The poll questioned 668 registered voters by telephone between April 26 and May 8 with a margin of error of 3.8 percent.
In 2004, Ohio was considered among a handful of key states in the presidential election, with candidates visiting Ohio numerous times during the race.
Of those polled, 316 registered Democrats were asked to evaluate five candidates who may be on the Ohio Democratic presidential ballot in March 2008. They are: New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, ex-North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, ex-Vice President Al Gore, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
Those polled were asked if they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of each, as well as if they knew too little about the candidate or hadn't heard of them. The margin of error on the question is 5.5 percent.
Who had top rating?
Edwards had the highest positive net rating -- the percentage of those who have a favorable opinion of him minus those who have an unfavorable opinion -- with 43 percent. Clinton was second with 42 percent; she had the highest favorable rating of 66 percent and the highest unfavorable rating of 24 percent.
Gore and Obama both had a 37-percent net positive rating with Kucinich at 5 percent.
Also, 240 registered Republicans were asked the same question about five candidates who may be on the Republican primary ballot. The candidates are ex-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona Sen. John McCain, ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and ex-Tennessee Sen. and actor Fred Thompson.
The margin of error is 6.3 percent on the question.
Giuliani's had the highest positive net rating at 43 percent, followed by McCain with 35 percent. Thompson's rating is 20 percent while Gingrich and Romney both had an 11-percent positive rating.
Giuliani had the highest favorable rating among Republicans at 58 percent while Gingrich had the highest unfavorable rating with 23 percent.
skolnick@vindy.com