If the matchup were between Portman and Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, Portman would come out ahead, 47 percent to 24 percent, the poll found.
Forty-nine percent of Ohio voters approve of the job Portman is doing in the Senate and 38 percent give him a favorable rating. Strickland has a 49 percent favorability rating while 89 percent of voters don’t know enough about Sittenfeld to have an opinion.
Just over half — 52 percent of voters — like the job that U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is doing. And Gov. John Kasich gets a 61 percent job approval rating.
The poll was conducted March 17 to March 28 on land lines and cell phones. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
Battle for cash
On Monday, the campaign for Sittenfeld said it has raised more than $757,000 in the first three months of this year.
The announcement comes after Portman’s campaign announced last week it raised more than $2.75 million so far this year, giving the Republican incumbent more than $8 million on hand for the 2016 race.
Sittenfeld’s campaign spokesman Dale Butland said in a statement that the financial support for Sittenfeld — a first-time candidate for statewide office — shows people are hungry for new leadership.
Strickland’s campaign hasn’t yet reported totals for the quarter just ended.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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