Back in May, Quinnipiac did some statewide polling in Ohio that showed the Democratic candidates for governor and Senate well ahead. I didn’t put too much stock in it, other than noticing that Republican candidates Mike DeWine, Rob Portman, and John Kasich had astonishingly low name ID.
Public Policy Polling now finds Democratic governor Ted Strickland, matched up against Kasich, leading 44–42, within the margin of error. They find 43 percent of Ohio voters approve of how Strickland is doing his job as governor, while 42 percent disapprove. (H/T, Ohio-based 3BP.)
All this tells us is what seemed a little off about that Quinnipiac poll — Ohio’s a purple state that’s experiencing economic tough times, which is usually bad news for incumbents. Circumstances can and will change, but next year we should see some competitive races in the Buckeye State.