A new poll shows Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman with a sizable 11–point lead over Democratic rival Ted Strickland, thanks to unusually high support among women.
The Quinnipiac University survey, released Friday, found Portman with 51 percent support among likely Ohio voters, compared to 40 percent for Strickland, a former Ohio governor.
The survey is the first to show Portman with more than 50 percent support, though it’s only one of several recent polls to show the GOP incumbent pulling away from Strickland.
In a release, Quinnipiac University said Strickland is “facing a blowout” because he’s not polling as well among women as Democrats usually do. The poll found 46 percent of female likely voters in Ohio back Portman, while 45 percent support Strickland.
Likely male voters backed Portman 57 percent to 33 percent, the poll found.
The survey follows announcements that national Democrats are pulling millions worth of planned TV ads on Strickland’s behalf – a sign that they are giving up on Strickland, who has not lived up to Democrats’ early expectations.
Strickland’s cash-strapped campaign has struggled to respond to a massive, months-long advertising barrage by Portman and his allies portraying Strickland as an inept governor who ran state finances into the ground.
“Sen. Portman has taken a double-digit lead in Ohio where the once tight race seems to be moving away from Democrat Ted Strickland, a former governor who showed strength early but whose chances have faded recently,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, in a statement. “And with this large deficit, Strickland may find it difficult to raise money.”
Portman campaign spokeswoman Michawn Rich said in a statement that “Even Democrats are abandoning Ted Strickland as momentum grows behind our campaign as we highlight the results Rob is delivering for Ohio families and as we’ve gained multiple union endorsements and contacted over 3.5 million voters through our unprecedented door-to-door and phone programs.”
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