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Plurality of Ohio Voters View Ted Strickland Unfavorably

Result yielded by Democratic-leaning firm

Ted Strickland in 2012
Ted Strickland / AP
May 2, 2016

A plurality of Ohio voters have an unfavorable opinion of former Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat currently running to unseat Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio), according to a survey produced by a Democratic-leaning polling firm.

Forty-four percent of the state’s registered voters view Strickland unfavorably, compared with 35 percent who view him positively, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released Monday. Twenty-one percent said they aren’t sure.

The result exhibits a change from a Quinnipiac University poll released in September, which found then that 44 percent of Ohio voters held a favorable impression of Strickland, who also served in Congress, and 35 percent an unfavorable one.

The Public Policy Polling survey has been promoted by the state Democratic Party and the Strickland campaign.

The release accompanying the poll did not highlight the result showing Strickland’s approval rating. Instead, it drew attention to a statistic showing that a plurality of Ohio voters believe that current Gov. John Kasich should drop out of the Republican race for president.

The polling firm’s release also underlined a result showing that a majority of voters in the state want the U.S. Senate to hold hearings on Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

Public Policy Polling was founded by businessman Dean Debnam, a major donor to Democratic campaigns and committees.

"The Ohio Senate race could end up being the most competitive in the country this year. We always find it closely matched, and there are also more voters on the fence than there are in some other key Senate contests this year," Debnam said in a statement included in the poll’s release. "How Portman handles the Supreme Court issue could play a big role in determining his fate."

The poll out Monday also found that Strickland and Portman are locked in a tie for the senate seat. Each candidate is supported by 38 percent of registered voters, while 23 percent remain unsure.

The Quinnipiac poll released seven months ago--before Strickland won the Democratic primary--found him slightly ahead of Portman in the likely matchup.

The poll was released the same day as a new Portman campaign web advertisement exhibiting Strickland’s budget cuts as governor that affected community health centers, schools, and drug and alcohol addiction services in the state.