I recognize that polls that give me results I don’t like could quite possibly be true. Indeed, Quinnipiac strikes me as a pretty reliable pollster. But this is the second time in a month they’ve found surprising numbers that should give Democrats a much-needed sense of a relief.

In late February, they put Sen. Arlen Specter up 7 in the Pennsylvania Senate race over Pat Toomey, after they and everyone else had seen a tie or a healthy Toomey lead for months. And since then, Toomey’s led by 6 in Susquehanna, by 9 in Rasmussen, and by 4 in Franklin & Marshall. Doesn’t mean they’re wrong and everybody else is right, just something to note.

Now they poll one state over, and offer surprisingly good news for Democrats:

Democrats are having a mini-surge in Ohio as two possible candidates for the open U.S. Senate seat have come from behind to pass the Republican contender, and Gov. Ted Strickland remains ahead of Republican challenger John Kasich, 43 – 38 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
And President Barack Obama’s job approval is up from a negative 44 – 52 percent February 23 to an almost even 47 – 48 percent today, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.
In the Senate race, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher leads Republican Rob Portman 41 – 37 percent, reversing a 40 – 37 percent Portman lead February 24. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner edges Portman 38 – 37 percent, reversing a 40 – 35 percent Republican lead.
Although Ohioans remain opposed to President Obama’s health care plan, the margin is down from a 55 – 36 percent disapproval in November to a 50 – 43 percent thumbs down today. But voters say 38 – 25 percent they are more likely to vote against their congressman if he or she voted for the Obama plan.

Again, Quinnipiac could very well be accurately measuring the mood of Ohioans today. But other pollsters have had Obama’s job disapproval in Ohio above 50 since October. And Portman’s led pretty consistently since the beginning of the year. In other words, I want to see if other pollsters show the same “mini-surge” that Quinnipiac sees. In Pennsylvania, at least so far, nobody else has seen it.