New poll: Gov. Strickland continues lead over GOP challenger

COLUMBUS — Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland continued to outpace Republican challenger John Kasich in their November matchup, though voters disapprove of the governor's handling of the economy and state budget.

That's according to the latest poll by Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, which regularly gauges

Ohioans' opinions on candidates on issues.

The Connecticut-based institute questioned 1,107 registered Ohio voters over the past week. Of that total, 43 percent said they supported Strickland in the gubernatorial election, versus 38 percent who supported Kasich.

The results are essentially unchanged from polls in March and April.

"Incumbents generally start a campaign with a name recognition edge and that is certainly the case in the governor’s race," Peter Brown, assistant director of the institute, said in a released statement today.

"Sometimes as the challenger becomes better known the race narrows. That has yet to happen in this case, although the share of voters who do not know enough about Kasich to form an opinion is at 52 percent, down from 62 percent April 29."