Sen. Rob Portman continues to hold a commanding lead in Ohio against former Gov. Ted Strickland, especially in Ohio’s 6th Congressional district, which Strickland used to represent.
According to a new poll, Portman leads Strickland by more than 2-1 margin in the 6th district, which stretches from Northeast Ohio to the very southeast corner of the state, including Appalachia. He leads with 61 percent support to Strickland’s 28 percent — a 33-point margin.
The poll, which was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, a group headed by Neil Newhouse, shows Portman is the overwhelming choice of Republicans (88-5 percent) and independents (59-26). The Ohio Republican also earns a solid slice of Democratic support as well, taking 20 percent.
Strickland represented much of the current 6th district during his 12 years in Congress, having served from 1993-95 and 1997-2007 before becoming Ohio’s governor.
“Ted Strickland turned his back on Southeast Ohio when he moved to Washington for his dream job, which paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to be a D.C. lobbyist, and then lobbied against the interest of Southeast Ohio,” said Corry Bliss, who is Portman’s campaign manager. “By the time we get to Election Day, I find it hard to believe that Ted Strickland will get a single vote in his old district that isn’t a blood relative.”
Just like his overall numbers in the state, Portman also outperforms Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the district. Trump leads former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 25 points, taking 52 percent support to Clinton’s 27 percent.
The poll of 600 likely voters was conducted from Oct. 13-16 and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
The Strickland campaign dismissed the results of the poll, citing Newhouse’s work for 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney four years ago and Public Opinion Strategies’ reputation as a Republican polling firm.
“This is the same polling firm that fal
“It’s no surprise that a Republican poll would claim the Republican candidate is doing well, but nothing can change Sen. Portman’s unabashed support for job-killing trade deals, his votes to jeopardize black lung benefits for coal workers or Portman’s long record of selling out Ohio’s working people in order to push the agenda of his rich and powerful friends,” Bergstein said.
As the Strickland campaign noted, trade has been a hot topic throughout the campaign, especially in the 6th district. During the first debate between the two candidates in Youngstown, the two butted heads on the issue. Strickland went after the incumbent Republican for his votes in support of NAFTA and CAFTA, telling him that he should “get down on his knees and apologize” to Mahoning Valley residents for shipping jobs overseas.
Portman, who served as the U.S. trade representative under the Bush administration, conceded that the record was “mixed” on NAFTA, but defended his work on the issue and hit Strickland for his anti-trade stance, saying it would hurt Ohio exporters.
Since August, Portman has taken a sizable lead in the race against Strickland. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Portman has a 15.8-point lead overall against the former governor.
The two are scheduled to take part in their third and final debate Thursday night in Cleveland.
