Download the Politics Daily Toolbar
Our new toolbar integrates the latest news and analysis into your Web browser and installs in seconds. Download it now!

Politics DailyPolitics Daily

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • COLUMNISTS
  • TOPICS
  • THE CAPITOLIST
  • WOMAN UP
  • DAILY FLOTUS
  • JUST IN
  • THE CRAM
  • CONTACT
  • Inside Politics Daily

    Portman Inches Ahead of Democratic Hopefuls in Ohio Senate Race

    Posted:
    11/12/09
    Anyone wondering if Republican victories in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races were harbingers of elections in other states where Democrats did well in 2006 and 2008 might look to Ohio. That's where former Rep. Rob Portman now holds slight leads over both Democrats contending for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. George Voinovich, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted Nov. 5-9.
    Get the new
    PD toolbar!


    Portman, who also served in former President George W. Bush's Cabinet, leads Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher by 39 percent to 36 percent with 24 percent undecided and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner by 38 percent to 34 percent with 27 percent undecided. The margin of error is 2.9 points.

    "The Democratic wave that swept through Ohio in 2006 and 2008 may be cresting. The Democratic lead in the Governor's and Senate races has evaporated, and for the first time President Barack Obama is under water in the most important swing state in the country," said Quinnipiac's Peter Brown, referring to the fact that, for the first time in this poll, more voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing than approve of it.

    Another Quinnipiac poll, conducted Nov. 5-9, found that former Republican Rep. John Kasich had pulled even with Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in the latter's race for re-election.

    The poll also found that for the first time, Ohio voters split -- 40 percent on each side -- on the question of who is better handling the health care issue, Obama or congressional Republicans. In September, they favored Obama by 49 percent to 28 percent.

    As for the Senate contest, the high number of undecided voters in a Democratic primary match-up and the fact that Portman and the two Democrats are still largely unknown statewide would suggest some caution in reading the results of the poll.

    In a Democratic primary, Fisher leads Brunner by 24 percent to 22 percent, but 51 percent say they are undecided.

    Seventy percent of voters didn't know enough about Portman to express a favorable or unfavorable opinion of him, 61 percent were in that category for Brunner and 58 percent for Fisher.




    Follow PoliticsDaily On Facebook and Twitter,
    and download the new Politics Daily toolbar!

    Bruce Drake

    Drake began his career with the New York Daily News, spending most of that time in Washington covering Congress, national politics and the Reagan White House... more

    Contact Bruce Drake

    subscribe to: RSS email: Bruce Drake

    Add your comments

    Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

    When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

    To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

    Avoid hate speech, foul language or a disrespectful tone in your comments. Unwanted comments will be deleted at the discretion of the moderator.

    • Happening Right Now

       
    Politics Daily on Facebook

    Other News