Ohio poll: 57% don’t like Obama’s job performance

June 27, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

Ohio voters, particularly those who refrain from political affiliation, are none too happy with President Barack Obama, giving him his “lowest grade ever” in the state in the latest poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

A total of 57 percent of 941 registered voters questioned said they disapproved of his work in office, versus 40 percent who said the opposite.

That compares with a 51 percent disapproval rate in the institute’s April survey and 47 percent in March.

Obama had a 67 percent approval rating in February 2009, his highest.

“Ohio was the key state in both of President Barack Obama’s elections, and it was his strong showing among independent voters there that made the difference,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the polling institute, said in a released statement. “President Obama’s fortunes in the Buckeye State have turned. Since last December, he has lost 10 points among Democrats and 17 points among independent voters. He has gone from a 20-point approval margin among women to a 9-point disapproval margin among female voters.”

Connecticut-based Quinnipiac regularly gauges Ohioans’ opinions on issues and candidates. Its latest survey, completed over the past week, has a margin of error of about 3 percentage points.

Among other results, big majorities of voters support gun control, with 78 percent saying they “somewhat” or “strongly” support background checks for firearms purchases.

But respondents were split on an expansion of Medicaid, with 46 percent supporting Gov. John Kasich’s plan to cover more needy Ohioans and 47 percent saying they did not.