New Poll: Trump, Biden tied in Ohio; DeWine’s approval rating sky-high

While Donald Trump won Ohio by 8-points in 2016, a new poll from Quinnipiac University shows a statistical tie between Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, indicating the two candidates will have to battle for the state’s 18 electoral votes.

Quinnipiac pollsters reported that if the election were held today, Trump would receive 45% of the vote while former Vice President Biden would receive 46%.

Biden leads among Blacks, women and whites with college degrees. Trump leads among whites without college degrees and white voters overall.

“You have to go back 60 years to find an election where Ohio was NOT a lynch-pin or a pathway to the presidency. That is why this very close horse race is so deeply consequential. The mantra in the backrooms of GOP and Democratic campaign headquarters has to be… ‘Don’t lose Ohio!’” said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy in a written release.

The poll, conducted June 18-22, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

It is the first Ohio-specific poll since a June 3 Fox News poll showed the Biden-Trump race a statistical tie.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released this week indicated that nationally, Biden holds a 14-point lead over Trump. Five months away from Election Day, Biden’s lead is built upon support from nonwhite voters and women, that poll found.

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The Quinnipiac poll also found:

— Gov. Mike DeWine’s approval rating is 79%, which is 31 percentage points higher than it was in July 2019 and is the highest for any Ohio governor since at least 2007;

— DeWine’s approval rating is higher among Democrats — 81% — than it is for Republicans — 76%.

— 77% of Ohio voters approve of how DeWine is handling the coronavirus crisis while only 43% approve of Trump’s handling of it;

— 60% said DeWine’s lifting of restrictions imposed during the pandemic is about right while 19% said it is too fast and 19% said it is not quick enough;

— 52% support banning Confederate flags from public places in Ohio but 54% oppose renaming military bases that had been named after Confederate generals;

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— 82% approve of the way police in their community are doing their job but half say officers in general are not held accountable for misconduct;

— 60% of Black voters say they’re worried about being the victim of police violence compared to only 9% of white voters; and

— 57% oppose cutting some funding for their community’s police departments and shifting the money to social services.

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