Raleigh, N.C. – After a little over a year on the job, Ohioans appear to be having voter’s remorse over the election of Republican John Kasich as Governor. Kasich holds a 53% job disapproval rating compared to just 33% approval. Independents disapprove by a 38-47 rate, just 9% of Democrats approve compared to 80% who do not, and 25% of Republicans disapprove while only 58% approve. When asked who they would vote for if they could do last fall’s election for Governor over again, Ted Strickland leads by 20 points, with 56% of voters say they would vote for him and just 36% for Kasich.
House Speaker John Boehner fares even worse, with only 28% of voters approving of his job performance and 54% disapproving.
“Ohio voters sent John Kasich a strong message in November by repealing Senate Bill 5 and his numbers haven’t improved any since then,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “He remains one of the least popular Governors in the country and that could help Democratic prospects in the state this fall.”
PPP also asked some Ohio-related sports questions of voters, regarding the Ohio State University, LeBron James, and Pete Rose. 70% of Ohio voters consider themselves to be OSU fans, and 67% of those fans approve of the recent hiring of Urban Meyer as the school’s new football coach. Despite his dismissal last year, fans still hold Jim Tressel in high regard, with 60% holding a favorable opinion to just 16% unfavorable.
Among voters who hold an opinion though, LeBron James still hasn’t recovered from his defection to Miami, with just 15% of voters holding a favorable opinion of him and 33% unfavorable. Voters are split on how warmly they view baseball legend Pete Rose, who garners a 32-26 favorability rating, but a majority of voters (55-23) believe he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
PPP surveyed 820 Ohio voters on January 28th and 29th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
John Kasich’s job performance?
Approve…………….. 33%
Disapprove………… 53%
Not sure ……………. 14%
Q2 If you could do last fall’s election for Governor
over again, would you vote for Democrat Ted
Strickland or Republican John Kasich?
Ted Strickland ……. 56%
John Kasich ………. 36%
Not sure ……………. 8%
Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Rob
Portman’s job performance?
Approve …………….. .26%
Disapprove…………. .32%
Not sure …………….. .42%
Q4 Do you approve or disapprove of the job House
Speaker John Boehner is doing?
Approve …………….. .28%
Disapprove…………. .54%
Not sure …………….. .18%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of LeBron James?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 15%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 33%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 51%
Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Pete Rose?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 32%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 26%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 42%
Q7 Do you think Pete Rose should be in the
Baseball Hall of Fame, or not?
He should……………………………………………….. 55%
He should not………………………………………….. 23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%
Q8 Do you consider yourself to be an Ohio State
fan, or not?
Ohio State fan…………………………………………. 70%
Not ………………………………………………………… 30%
Q9 (Ohio State fans only:) Do you approve or
disapprove of Urban Meyer’s hire as the new
football coach?
Approve …………….. .67%
Disapprove…………. . 6%
Not sure …………….. .27%
Q10 (Ohio State fans only:) Do you have a
favorable or unfavorable opinion of Jim
Tressel?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 60%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 16%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%
Q11 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 10%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 18%
Moderate………………………………………………… 30%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 21%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 21%
Q12 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%
Q13 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 ……………………………………………….. 42%
Republican……………………………………………… 36%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 21%
Q14 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 84%
African-American …………………………………….. 11%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%
Q15 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………………………………………………….. 14%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 22%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 44%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
