About the poll
This poll is part of a continuing collaboration between Ohio’s eight largest newspapers — the Dayton Daily News, The (Cleveland) Plan Dealer, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch, Akron Beacon Journal, The (Toledo) Blade, Canton Repository, and The (Youngstown) Vindicator. The newspapers have been working together for several years to report on issues important to Ohioans. Elsewhere on these pages is another collaboration between the newspapers — a story examining the millions of dollars being spent on television advertising in the final weeks of the campaign.
The poll was conducted by the University of Cincinnati’s Institute for Policy Research. A random sample of 852 likely voters from throughout the state was interviewed by landline telephone and cellular telephone. In 95 of 100 cases, the statewide estimates will be accurate to plus or minus 3.4 percent.
A second poll will be published Oct. 24-25.
For more analysis of the poll watch WHIO Reports at 11 a.m. today on Channel 7.
After months of trailing in poll after poll, in some cases by double digits, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has pulled within four points of Republican challenger John Kasich in the Ohio governor’s race, according to a Dayton Daily News/Ohio Newspaper poll.
The tightening comes days before early voting begins Tuesday, and as the candidates roll out a television ad blitz.
But the poll has some bad news for Democrats. Republican former Congressman Rob Portman leads Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher in the race for the U.S. Senate by a wide margin: 55 percent to 40 percent.
The poll shows Kasich leads Strickland 49 percent to 45 percent. It has a margin of error of 3.4 percent.
“Gov. Strickland would probably be pleased to be behind by only 4 percent after some of the polls that showed him much farther behind,” said Eric Rademacher, co-director of the University of Cincinnati’s Institute for Policy Research, which did the poll. “But, the fact is, for an incumbent governor, it’s a little bit late in the year to be under 50 percent support.”
Rademacher pointed to another line in the poll that is not particularly good for Strickland —55 percent of those who support him say they could change their minds, while only 45 percent of Kasich’s supporters said they might switch.
“Kasich’s support seems solid; Strickland’s, a little more soft,’’ Rademacher said.
Howard Wilkinson of the Cincinnati Enquirer contributed to this report.
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