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Kasich Leads Fitzgerald In New Poll
< < Back to kasich-leads-fitzgerald-new-pollGovernor John Kasich holds a seven-point lead over his likely 2014 Democratic opponent Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald according to a new poll released today.
Kasich leads Fitzgerald 44 percent to 37 percent in the latest independent Quinnipiac survey of Ohio voters. Governor Kasich’s numbers are slightly down however from the 47 percent he received in a similar poll in late June.
“Ohio Gov. John Kasich enters his reelection year with only a seven-point lead over a largely unknown challenger,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “On the plus side, his approval ratings mark a huge turnaround from his first two years, when his job approval was in the 30s and Democrats were licking their chops at the prospect of making him a one-termer.”
Ohioans approve of the job Governor Kasich is doing 52 percent to 33 percent. However fewer Ohioans have a favorable opinion of the Governor, 41 percent favoring him to 30 percent finding him unfavorable.
Fitzgerald’s biggest problem seems to be a lack of recognizability. 71 percent of Ohio voters say they don’t know enough about him to form an opinion.
“Democrat Ed Fitzgerald has a long way to go to introduce himself to the voters of Ohio,” Brown said. “Only one in four voters know enough about him to have an opinion, meaning three in four don’t know much about him.”
Twenty-six percent of Ohio voters say Fitzgerald has the right kind of experience to be governor, while 27 percent say he doesn’t with 47 percent still undecided.
When it comes to gender, 48 percent of men favor Kasich as opposed to 35 percent for Fitzgerald. Women however are nearly evenly divided favoring Kasich by 39 percent over Fitzgerald’s 38 percent.
Kasich’s recent push to expand Medicaid under Obamacare has landed him in hot water with some in his own party but 51 percent of Ohioans think its a good idea while 40 percent don’t. Because of the decision however, 23 percent of Republicans say they are less likely to vote for Kasich.
The telephone poll was conducted Nov.r 19 through Nov. 24 and surveyed 1,361 registered voters.