Ohio governor, Senate races nearly tied: Poll

Ohio’s gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races are neck and neck in new polling released this week.

The Bowling Green State University (BGSU) survey found the Democratic candidates in these races hold 3-point leads over their GOP opponents among likely voters in the state. However, when asked about who is most likely to win, the Republicans had the advantage.

In the gubernatorial race, 48 percent of likely voters backed Democratic nominee Amy Acton and 45 percent supported Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy. Sixty-two percent of those polled said they believe Ramaswamy will ultimately win the November contest.

Incumbent Sen. Jon Husted (R) also fell behind his Democratic challenger, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, by three points, but 53 percent or respondents said the Republican will likely beat Brown in the midterm election.

The results in this new poll are similar to the outcomes in a June survey from AARP, which found the GOP candidates narrowly trailing behind their Democratic opponents.

Additionally, the BGSU survey asked respondents about the measure on the November ballot about whether to amend the state’s constitution to require voter ID — an issue that 66 percent of respondents said they had only heard between “some” and “nothing at all” about.

The proposed amendment is similar to President Trump’s “ Safeguard American Voter Eligibility ” (SAVE) Act, and it would require voters to present government-issued identification when going to cast their ballot.

Sixty-four percent of those polled on this issue said they would support this amendment, while 29 percent were against this change and 7 percent said they were “unsure.”

The survey also polled likely voters about their views on how Trump has handled his job as president. Sixty percent disapproved, with 49 percent expressing strong dissatisfaction with his job performance.

Robert Alexander, a BGSU political science professor, said the poll’s findings indicate Ohio voters are “becoming increasingly uneasy” about the president and the direction of the country and economy.

“Given that midterm elections are largely about the president’s approval, Democrats are poised to be competitive in a state Republicans have dominated electorally for two decades,” Alexander said in a statement .

The Bowling Green State University poll surveyed a sample of 1,000 likely Ohio voters between Sept. 1-10 with a margin of error of approximately 4 percentage points.