Wednesday, July 30, 2014HAMDEN, Conn. -- Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the Democratic challenger in the race for Ohio governor, remains largely unknown and is gaining little ground against Republican Gov. John Kasich who leads 48%-36%, finds a newly released poll by Quinnipiac University.
This compares to a 50%-35% Kasich lead in a May 14 survey by the independent Quinnipiac University.
The traditional gender gap exists as men back the Republican 53%-31%, while women are divided, with 43% for Kasich and 41% for FitzGerald. Kasich leads 92%-2% among Republicans and 47%-28% among independent voters, while Democrats go to FitzGerald 78%-9%.
Ohio voters approve, 55%-31%, of the job Kasich is doing, virtually unchanged from his all-time high of 56%-33% May 14. Voters say 50%-37% that he deserves reelection, compared to 53%–37% in May.
Kasich gets a 46%–30% favorability rating, little changed from May.
Less than 100 days before election, 65% of Ohio voters don’t know enough about FitzGerald to form an opinion of him, according to the poll.
“County Executive Ed FitzGerald is gaining little or no ground in his bid to unseat Kasich. The Democratic nominee still has a long way to go with little more than three months until Election Day,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. “Almost two-thirds of registered voters don’t know enough about FitzGerald to have an opinion of him. That’s an awful lot of Ohioans who still have to be introduced to him. This survey was conducted during the period in which the Democrat had just begun his television advertising buy," he added.
A total of 60% of Ohio voters are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the way things are going in the state, while 39% are somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
Kasich gets strong character scores, while FitzGerald remains plagued by lack of voter recognition, the poll found. The incumbent also tops the challenger on handling important issues:
“Not only does Gov. Kasich hold a solid lead, but he also is viewed as better able to handle the economy and jobs and even normally Democratic issues such as abortion and health care,” Brown said. “He also has the edge on character traits. And 50% or more of voters say he deserves another term and think he is doing a good job in his first term in office.
From July 24–28, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,366 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Live interviewers called land lines and cell phones.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, Colorado and the nation as a public service and for research.
SOURCE: Quinnipiac University Poll
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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