Polling shows tight races in Ohio for general election

Published 12:46 am Sunday, February 28, 2016

A new poll finds that Ohio would see a tough race between real estate tycoon and reality TV star Donald Trump and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In results released Wednesday by the Quinnipiac University poll, Trump is ahead of Clinton, 44 to 42 percent, but within the poll’s margin of error of +/- 2.5 percent.

If the Democratic nominee is U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the race is tied, with he and Trump each receiving 44 percent.

Email newsletter signup

In other possible matchups, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, would edge Clinton 46 to 43 percent, while U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida tops Clinton 47 to 42 percent.

In match-ups with Sanders, Cruz loses 44 to 42 percent, while Rubio leads, 44 to 42 percent.

While he hasn’t performed strongly in his quest for the nomination, the strongest candidate for Republicans in the general election would be Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who would beat Clinton, 54 to 37 percent in the state. He would lead Sanders, 54 to 35 percent.

Of all candidates polled, only Kasich, Sanders and Rubio have a favorable rating in positive territory.

Kasich is viewed favorably by 56 percent of Ohioans, while 28 percent hold a negative view. Sanders holds a 44 percent favorable rating, with 41 percent unfavorable, while Rubio is viewed favorably by 36 percent, with 34 percent unfavorable.

All other candidates had higher negatives, with Trump’s highest at 59 percent, with 35 percent favorable. Clinton is viewed unfavorably by 57 percent of voters, with a 37 percent favorable rating.

The poll also found former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland leading incumbent Republican Rob Portman in the U.S. Senate race, with 44 percent of voters backing Strickland and 42 percent backing Portman.

The poll of 1.539 Ohio registered voters was taken from Feb. 16-20.