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 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.
This compares to a 50 – 35 percent Kasich lead in a May 14 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.
The traditional gender gap exists as men back the Republican 53 – 31 percent, while women are divided, with 43 percent for Gov. Kasich and 41 percent for FitzGerald. Kasich leads 92 – 2 percent among Republicans and 47 – 28 percent among independent voters, while Democrats go to FitzGerald 78 – 9 percent.
Ohio voters approve 55 – 31 percent of the job Kasich is doing, virtually unchanged from his all-time high of 56 – 33 percent May 14. Voters say 50 – 37 percent that he deserves reelection, compared to 53 – 37 percent in May.
Kasich gets a 46 – 30 percent favorability rating, little changed from May.
Less than 100 days before election, 65 percent of Ohio voters don’t know enough about FitzGerald to form an opinion of him.
“County Executive Ed FitzGerald is gaining little or no ground in his bid to unseat incumbent Gov. John 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.”
A total of 60 percent of Ohio voters are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the way things are going in the state, while 39 percent are somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
Kasich gets strong character scores, while FitzGerald remains plagued by lack of voter recognition:
- Voters say 66 – 25 percent that the governor has strong leadership qualities, compared to 36 – 18 percent, with 46 percent undecided, for FitzGerald;
- Kasich is honest and trustworthy, voters say 52 – 34 percent, compared to 34 – 19 percent, with 47 percent undecided, for the Democrat;
- The governor cares about their needs and problems, voters say 48 – 41 percent, compared to FitzGerald’s 36 – 24 percent, with 41 percent undecided;
- Voters say 53 – 36 percent that Kasich has good judgment, compared to FitzGerald at 32 – 18 percent, with 49 percent undecided.
The incumbent tops the challenger on handling important issues:
- 49 – 33 percent on the economy and jobs;
- 50 – 31 percent on taxes;
- 42 – 36 percent on education;
- 50 – 31 percent on government spending;
- 36 – 32 percent on abortion;
- 43 – 33 percent on health care.
The battle over collective bargaining for government employees is still very important or somewhat important to 80 percent of Ohio voters.
That fight makes 31 percent of voters less likely to vote for Kasich, with 19 percent more likely and 45 percent who say it will not affect their vote.
“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 percent or more of voters say he deserves another term and think he is doing a good job in his first term in office.
“Four out of five voters say Kasich’s largest embarrassment as governor – the SB5 fiasco – is important to their vote. Many voters say the fight over collective bargaining makes them less likely to vote for Kasich, but a plurality says it won’t affect their choice.”
From July 24 – 28, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,366 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Live interviewers call 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.
Click here for all the details and numbers from this survey.
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