Poll: Kasich would top both Hillary, Bernie among Ohio voters

February 25, 2016 at 12:08a.m.

COLUMBUS

Gov. John Kasich would defeat both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders among Ohio voters, according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll released Wednesday.

The Republican governor had double-digit leads over both Democratic candidates and performed better than any other GOP contender among likely Ohio voters.

Kasich topped Clinton, 54 percent-37 percent, and Sanders, 54 percent-35 percent.

“The four leading Republican candidates either tie or lead former Secretary Clinton in Ohio, considered the best microcosm of the national electorate and a must-win for the GOP,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the poll, said. “Republicans have never won the White House without carrying Ohio.”

Connecticut-based Quinnipiac regularly gauges the opinions of voters in Ohio and other swing states on candidates and issues. Its latest survey took place over the past week and included 1,539 registered Ohio voters. The results had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

Other Republican candidates were within that margin against Clinton and Sanders, with the Vermont senator faring slightly better than the former secretary of state.

“The face-off in Ohio between the two front-runners, former Secretary Clinton and businessman Donald Trump is too close to call,” Brown said. “Despite their delegate leads in their respective nomination fights, these leaders find themselves with similarly strongly negative net favorability ratings, much more so than any other Democratic or Republican contender.”

In the Ohio U.S. Senate race, Democratic challenger Ted Strickland was slightly ahead of Republican incumbent Rob Portman, 44 percent-42 percent.

Portman outpaced Cincinnati City Councilman PG Sittenfeld, 42 percent-29 percent, with 85 percent of voters saying they don’t know enough about Sittenfeld to have an opinion about him.

“The Ohio U.S. Senate race is a statistical tie between incumbent Sen. Rob Portman and former Gov. Ted Strickland,” Brown said. “If the contest remains this close, the outcome of the presidential race in Ohio could make the difference in the Senate contest.”