Wednesday, October 27, 2010
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Governor John Kasich
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Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland
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Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Gov. Ted Strickland continues to gain ground on his Republican challenger, John Kasich, among Ohioans likely to vote in next week’s general election.
Democrat Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher also made up some ground in the race for U.S. Senate, but Republican Rob Portman is maintaining a seemingly insurmountable lead.
That’s according to the latest Quinnipiac poll, the third of the month as the nation keeps its eyes on Ohio’s election results.
“It is difficult to see how Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher wins the election,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a released statement. “Despite his gains, he remains 17 points behind with a week to go. A successful comeback would make Harry Truman’s victory look like small potatoes by comparison.”
Brown added, “Gov. Ted Strickland, on the other hand, has made the race for governor competitive. He still trails by six points and certainly has his work cut out for him. But Strickland has had the momentum in the last month.”
Connecticut-based Quinnipiac regularly gauges Ohio voters’ opinions of candidates and issues. It polled 686 likely voters over the past week on the gubernatorial and Senate races. The results have a margin of error of about 4 percent.
Among respondents:
Kasich topped Strickland, 49 percent to 43 percent. That compares with 51 percent to 41 percent in a poll released a week ago.
Kasich is viewed favorably by 43 percent of likely voters and unfavorably by 37 percent. Strickland is viewed favorably by 43 percent but unfavorably by 45 percent.
Portman led Fisher by 17 points, 53 percent to 36 percent. That compares with 55 percent to 34 percent last week.
Portman is viewed favorably by 50 percent of likely voters and unfavorably by 21 percent. Fisher is viewed favorably by 32 percent and unfavorably by 42 percent.
