Democrats have edge in filling Voinovich’s seat, new poll finds

By Marc Kovac

Only Portman has officially committed to running for the seat.

COLUMBUS — Potential Democratic candidates for retiring U.S. Sen. George Voinovich’s seat are outpacing their Republican counterparts, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner both topped former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman and state Auditor Mary Taylor by double-digit margins in the Quinnipiac University poll.

“Ohio remains pretty blue these days, given Gov. Ted Strickland’s high approval ratings in past polls and the fact that President Barack Obama carried the state easily, and it shows in the early Senate numbers,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the institute, said in a released statement. “But Republicans should not be disheartened by these numbers. We are still in the Obama honeymoon period, and both Fisher and Brunner are known almost twice as well statewide as Portman and Taylor.”

The Connecticut-based polling institute regularly gauges Ohioans’ opinions on candidates and issues.

It surveyed 1,127 Ohio voters — including 492 Democrats and 374 Republicans — over the past week on potential primary and general election match-ups for the Senate seat.

Portman had a 33 percent to 11 percent lead over Taylor in the Republican primary, while Fisher had an 18 percent to 16 percent edge over Brunner, with U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, snagging 14 percent. More than half of those polled had no opinion.

In trial heats, Fisher topped Portman (42 percent to 27 percent) and Taylor (41 percent to 27 percent). Brunner topped Portman and Taylor by comparable margins.

Only Portman has committed to the race to date.

mkovac@dixcom.com