Senate race between Portman, Stickland virtually tied in latest poll

Ohio’s U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Ted Strickland continues to be extremely close, a new survey has found.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows Strickland with 43 percent support, while Portman has 42 percent. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

Other surveys done in the past few months also show the two candidates tied or Strickland ahead by a narrow margin.

The Quinnipiac poll found Portman has a 44 percent job approval rating, compared with just 29 percent who disapprove of how he’s doing as U.S. senator.

The survey also shows 56 percent of Ohioans believe the U.S. Senate should consider the nomination of Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court. Republicans, including Portman, have declined to act on Garland’s nomination, saying the choice should be left to the next president.

Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed said Portman’s stance on the court pick makes it less likely they will support him. Fifteen percent said they would be more likely to vote for him over the issue.

Forty-seven percent of Ohioans favor Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court, while 33 percent of respondents disagreed with the pick.

Click here to read more of this story.