COUMBUS, Ohio – Governor John Kasich performs better in his home state than the other possible 2016 Republican presidential candidates against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but still trails the former Secretary of State by five points, according to a poll released Thursday morning by Quinnipiac University.
The poll of registered Ohio voters shows 42 percent of them saying they would back Kasich, compared with 47 percent who are supporting Clinton in a head-to-head matchup. That is a significant narrowing of the 51–39 percent lead Clinton showed over Kasich in a February 20 survey.
“Gov. John Kasich runs best against Secretary Hillary Clinton for 2016 among eight Republican candidates, although her lead over most of them has dropped considerably since Quinnipiac University surveyed Ohio voters in February,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
Clinton’s lead over the other possible 2016 Republican contenders ranges from seven percentage points over Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Cong. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to 14 points over Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
Fifty-three percent of Ohio voters say they have a favorable opinion of Clinton, compared to 47 percent for Kasich
Ohio voters give President Barack Obama a 39 percent approval rating, down from 40 percent in February.
“Although he is not on the ballot this November, such a consistently low rating can’t be helpful to the Democratic ticket, especially gubernatorial nominee Ed Fitzgerald who currently trails Gov. Kasich 50–35 percent and is somewhat of an unknown to Ohio voters,” Brown said.
Ohio voters approve of the job Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is doing by a 49–33 percent margin and give Republican Sen. Rob Portman a 44–27 percent approval rating.
The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus three points.