PPP has a new poll out of Ohio today that shows that voters there want Governor John Kasich (R. OH) to drop out of the presidential race because they feel he’s neglecting his duties there. They also tested the U.S. Senate race and it’s still a tight one:
The Senate race in Ohio remains very tight, with Rob Portman and Ted Strickland each at 38%, and 23% of voters undecided. Rob Portman has just a 32/40 approval spread. That puts him well behind Sherrod Brown's 42/33 spread for honors as Ohio's more popular Senator (Brown also has an early 47/33 lead in a hypothetical rematch in 2018 against Josh Mandel.) One issue percolating right now that really has the potential to hurt Portman is the Supreme Court seat. 53% of voters want to see the seat filled this year to only 39% who don't, including a 60/31 spread with independents in favor of filling it this year. But where voters are really mad with Senate Republicans is the issue of holding hearings and at least giving Merrick Garland a fair shot. 65% of voters think the Senate should have hearings on Garland's nomination to only 21% of voters opposed to doing so. That includes 75/10 support from Democrats, 75/11 from independents, and 47/38 even from Republicans for holding hearings. Another problem for Portman- tied in with the Supreme Court issue- is that Mitch McConnell has only a 14% approval rating with voters in the state to 50% who disapprove of him. That makes his unpopularity a potential drag on Portman.
We also polled on a variety of other issues in Ohio:
-83% of voters support background checks on all gun purchases, to only 11% who are opposed to them. That includes strong bipartisan support from 90% of Democrats, 82% of independents, and 76% of Republicans.
-73% of voters in the state support increasing the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour, compared to only 14% who want to keep it where it is and 10% who would prefer to eliminate it altogether. 88% of Democrats, 67% of independents, and 61% of Republicans alike support an increase to at least $10 an hour.
-66% of voters in the state say they would support a bill creating more accountability for charter schools, to only 17% opposed to that concept. There's 74/7 support from Democrats, 62/20 from independents, and 60/25 from Republicans for doing that.
-By a 26 point margin voters in the state support adopting a nonpartisan process for drawing up Congressional district lines- 44% support doing that to only 18% who are opposed. Support for nonpartisan redistricting is strongest with independents (60/13), followed by Democrats (43/14) and even has 35/26 favor from Republicans despite the fact that it wouldn't be in the party's best interests politically.
-Finally 61% of voters in the state support the EPA Clean Power Plan, to 31% who are opposed.
In other related news, Strickland’s former primary opponent, P.G. Sittenfeld (D. OH), is uniting behind Strickland’s campaign:
This is going to be a tight one all the way to end but it’s clear Portman’s obstruction to Merrick Garland and his alliance to Mitch McConnell are helping lead to his downfall. Lets go all in and take him down. Click here to donate and get involved with Strickland’s campaign.