Brown ahead of Portman in Ohio popularity

Published 10:00 am Friday, November 27, 2015

A national polling organization has released approval ratings for all 100 of the nation’s U.S. senators based on opinions of their state constituents, and, in Ohio, the results find Democrat Sherrod Brown to be more popular than Republican Rob Portman.

Brown currently enjoys a 52 percent approval rating among Ohio voters, while 26 percent disapprove, according to the survey by Morning Consult.

Portman, who is facing Democratic former Gov. Ted Strickland in his bid for re-election in 2016, has a 41 percent approval rating, with 24 percent disapproving.

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While Portman’s approve/disapprove rating is in positive territory, it still falls short of the 50 percent threshold most political observers view as a safe mark for an incumbent officeholder.

The survey of 3,259 Ohioans was conducted between May and November 2015.

In other states’ results, the polling company found U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, to be the most popular with his state’s respondents, sporting an 83 percent approval rating, with 13 percent disapproving.

The highest disapproval rating was U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, at 52 percent in the Bluegrass State, with 38 percent approving.