Raleigh,
N.C. – Democrat
Sherrod Brown remains ahead of Republican Josh Mandel for Ohio’s US Senate race.  Brown continues to lead Mandel by 8 points
(49-41), a survey conducted over the weekend found.  Compared to a survey earlier in September,
Brown still leads by 8 points, yet both candidates have gained one point over
in their favor over the past few weeks.

“Sherrod
Brown is holding steady with a high single digit lead in the Ohio Senate race,”
said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “He continues to run
several points ahead of President Obama so unless there’s a major shift over
the last five weeks in the Presidential race he should be in pretty good
shape.”

Although John
Kasich’s approval has decreased by one point since the beginning of September,
now at 44%, Ohioans still support Kasich. 
Kasich’s future opponent for Governor could be Democrat Ted Strickland,
with a 37% approval rating by Ohio voters. 
If the two candidates were to go head-to-head for Governor, 45% would
vote for Kasich and 42% would vote for Strickland.  This potential battle is still far off and
opinions could definitely change.

When it comes
to other representatives in the state, opinions are mixed.  For Senator Rob Portman, 32% approve, 24%
disapprove, and 44% are unsure of his job performance.  House Speaker John Boehner is not highly
favored in his home state, with 32% of Ohioans approving, 22% unsure, and 46%
of voters disapproving of his job performance.

Issue 2 is a
hot topic for Ohioans.  Issue 2 would
create a state-funded commission of appointed individuals to replace elected
officials to establish congressional and state legislative district lines.  The commission created would consist of 4
individuals from the largest political party, 4 individuals from the second
largest political party, and 4 individuals who are not identified with either
party.  Ohioans are not in favor of Issue
2, with 49% who would vote against Issue 2 if the election were held today.

PPP surveyed 897
likely Ohio voters from September 27 to 30. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.3%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or
political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone
interviews.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
Sherrod Brown’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .42%
Disapprove…………. .43%
Not sure …………….. .14%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Josh Mandel?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 33%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 48%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 19%

Q3 The candidates for US Senate are Democrat
Sherrod Brown and Republican Josh Mandel. If
the election was today, who would you vote
for?
Sherrod Brown………………………………………… 49%
Josh Mandel …………………………………………… 41%
Undecided………………………………………………. 11%

Q4 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
John Kasich’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .44%
Disapprove…………. .40%
Not sure …………….. .16%

Q5 Generally speaking, if there was an election
today, would you vote for Republican John
Kasich or his Democratic opponent?
John Kasich ……….. .46%
Democratic
opponent……………..41%
Not sure …………….. .14%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Ted Strickland?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 37%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 37%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 27%

Q7 If the candidates for Governor next time were
Republican John Kasich and Democrat Ted
Strickland, who would you vote for?
John Kasich ……………………………………………. 45%
Ted Strickland …………………………………………. 42%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%

Q8 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Rob
Portman’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .32%
Disapprove…………. .24%
Not sure …………….. .44%

Q9 Do you approve or disapprove of House
Speaker John Boehner’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .32%
Disapprove…………. .46%
Not sure …………….. .22%

Q10 If there was an election for Congress today,
would you vote Democratic or Republican?
Democratic……………………………………………… 45%
Republican……………………………………………… 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q11 Issue 2 would remove the authority of elected
representatives and grant new authority to
appointed officials to establish congressional
and state legislative district lines. It would
create a state-funded commission of appointed
individuals from a limited pool of applicants to
replace the aforementioned. The commission
would consist of 12 members as follows: four
affiliated with the largest political party, four
affiliated with the second largest political party,
and four not affiliated with either of the two
largest political parties. Affirmative votes of
seven of 12 members are needed to select a
plan. If the election was today, would you vote
for or against Issue 2?
For ………………………………………………………… 26%
Against…………………………………………………… 49%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q12 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 11%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 16%
Moderate………………………………………………… 33%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 17%

Q13 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%

Q14 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 41%
Republican……………………………………………… 36%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 23%

Q15 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 84%
African-American …………………………………….. 11%
Other……………………………………………………… 6%

Q16 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 42%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%