Kasich up 7 in OH Gov race

Republican John Kasich continues to hold a modest lead over incumbent Democrat Ted Strickland in the Ohio gubernatorial race. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Ohio Voters, with leaners included, finds Kasich with 50% support to Strickland’s 43%. Two percent (2%) like another candidate in the race, and five percent (5%) are undecided. Ohio remains Leans GOP on the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard. Late last month, Kasich posted a 52% to 40% lead when leaners were included. Leaners are those who initially indicate no preference for either of the candidates but answer a follow-up question and say they are leaning towards a particular candidate. From this point forward, Rasmussen Reports considers results with leaners the primary indicator of the race. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Kasich supporters say they are already certain how they will vote on Election Day, as are 74% of those who favor Strickland. When leaners are removed from the totals, Kasich leads 48% to 40%. In the previous survey, he led 47% to 39% minus leaners. Kasich, an investment banker and former congressman, now earns 88% of the Republican vote in the state. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Ohio Democrats support Strickland. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the GOP candidate leads by more than 20 points. This survey was taken prior to the first debate between the candidates Tuesday night. (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. The survey of 750 Likely Voters in Ohio was conducted on September 13, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology. More information from this survey will be released later this week atwww.rasmussenreports.com/ohio. Republican Rob Portman now earns his highest level of support to date against Democrat Lee Fisher in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio. The governor’s race has been a tight one for months. In surveys since December, Kaisch has earned 45% to 49% support, while Strickland has captured 38% to 45% of the vote. Kasich is now viewed favorably by 50% of Ohio voters and unfavorably by 37%. This includes 25% with a Very Favorable view and 23% with a Very Unfavorable one. For Strickland, a member of Congress when he was elected governor in 2006, favorables are 39% and unfavorables 55%. These findings include 21% with a Very Favorable opinion of the governor and 36% Very Unfavorable. Ohio has struggled with the bad economy more than most states and has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Jobs are a key issue in the race. Ohio voters put slightly more trust in Republicans than Democrats when it comes to the economy – by a 48% to 41% margin. Support for repeal of the national health care bill is stronger in Ohio than it is nationally, and 51% of the state’s voters think repeal would be good for the economy, nearly 10 points higher than the view among voters nationwide. But Ohio voters are evenly divided when it comes to which major political party they trust more when it comes to the issue of health care. Forty-one percent (41%) approve of the job Strickland is doing as governor, while 57% disapprove. This marks little change from the previous survey.