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Poll: Fisher ahead of Brunner
By MARC KOVAC
COLUMBUS
Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher opened a double-digit lead over Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
With less than a week before the election, Fisher outpaced Brunner 41 percent to 24 percent among 987 Democratic voters questioned over the past week.
That was up from 33 percent to 26 percent last month.
The poll has margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The sample was drawn from registered-voter lists based on people who have voted in recent elections.
But 34 percent of likely voters still are undecided on the race, and more than half said they might change their mind.
“For the last year [Fisher] had held a small lead over Ms. Brunner, but as the primary approaches, he has more than doubled his margin,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Polling Institute, said in a statement. “Although anything can happen in politics, at this point, the race appears to be his to lose.”
He added, “The obvious reason for Fisher opening up the race is that in the last weeks, he has overwhelmed Ms. Brunner in television and radio advertising. Money may not buy happiness, but it sure can win elections.
Of course, a third of likely voters say they remain undecided, but Ms. Brunner would have to win the vast, vast majority of them.”
The Connecticut-based institute regularly gauges Ohio voters’ opinions on candidates and issues.
Among respondents in the latest poll, 46 percent said they believed Fisher was more likely to win in November against Republican Rob Portman, a former congressman and Bush administration official.
Portman has no Republican primary challenger.
Only 16 percent thought Brunner was more likely to win the general election.
“Fisher already had better name recognition, and his financial advantage allowed him to build on that edge,” Brown said.
“Name recognition and money are often difficult to overcome, and that is the challenge facing Ms. Brunner in the final days of the campaign.”