Quinnipiac

Last week, the non-partisan Quinnipiac University Polling Institute showed a hypothetical 2009 gubernatorial race in a dead heat, with U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie leading Gov. Jon Corzine by just one point - 41%-40% -- well within that poll's plus or minus 2.5% margin of error.  But a new Zogby International poll released today, conducted for Garden State Equality, shows Corzine with nine point lead over Christie.

Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson said the numbers show today's poll slightly skewered towards Democrats.  As of June 3rd - after a huge influx of new Democratic registrants for the February presidential primary and, to a lesser extent, Republican ones -- New Jersey had 1.68 million registered Democrats, 1.03 million registered Republicans and 2.23 unaffiliated/independent voters.  The poll's sample group was made up of 331 Democrats, 226 Republicans and only 246 independent/unaffiliated voters.

"We know in New Jersey that's not exactly how the makeup goes," said Wilson.

Still, Wilson said, the poll shows troubling numbers for Corzine.

A second independent poll in seven days on the 2009 race for Governor shows a potentially close contest between Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Christopher Christie, the United States Attorney.  A Zogby International poll conducted for Garden State Equality gives Corzine a 45%-36% lead over Christie; a Quinnipiac University poll released last Tuesday has Christie leading 41%-40% -- a statistical dead heat.

Keep an eye on Quinnipiac University tomorrow. They tend to release polls on consecutive days, so it’s likely that they’ll have head to head Ohio numbers for the presidential race on Friday morning. The last Quinnipiac poll (7/23-29) had Ohio in a statistical dead heat, with Barack Obama leading John McCain by two points, 46%-44%. A Rasmussen Reports poll a few days earlier had McCain up by ten points, 52%-42%.

The Ohio Democratic Party responded to the latest Quinnipiac approval ratings for Gov. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) reported by PolitickerOH.com and showing the governor with a 60 percent approval rating.

Ohio Democratic Party communications director Alex Goepfert touted Strickland's record of bringing Ohioans together.

"In marked contrast to the broken system in Washington, Governor Strickland has established a consistent record of bringing Ohioans together to solve the difficult challenges confronting our state's economy," Goepfert said. "It appears that Ohioans support Governor Strickland's agenda for creating thousands of new Ohio jobs and laying the foundation for long-term economic growth and prosperity through a $1.57 billion jobs stimulus plan."

A new Quinnipiac University poll is good news for Ted Strickland – 60% of Ohio voters approve of how he’s doing as Governor, while 25% disapprove. And nearly half of the voters (47%) say he’s kept his 2006 campaign promises – and 31% say he hasn’t.  But there are some numbers that should give Republicans cause for optimism as they figure out how to unseat a popular Governor in the 2010 election: only 9% of voters think Ohio is a better place to live than it was two years ago (when Bob Taft was Governor), while 32% say it’s a worse.  (That number is fairly equal among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.) 

Sherrod Brown is the more popular of Ohio's two United States Senators, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released today.  Brown, a freshman elected in 2006, has a 51%-23% approval rating.  George Voinovich, a two-term Senator, is at 51%-32%. 

This is Brown’s highest approval since taking office.  He was at 44%-23% in June.  Voinovich’s approvals have also increased from his 45%-31% June numbers.

In a new Quinnipiac University poll, by a 69%-27% margin Ohioans back a ballot proposal that will require companies with 25 or more employees to offer seven paid sick days a year.  That’s about the same as it was in June –71%-24%.  

While nearly six out of ten voters (59%-32%) say too much government regulation has hurt Ohio's economy, 58% of voters say passage of the sick leave law won't cause companies to leave Ohio.  32% say it will.

Gov. Ted Strickland has a 60%-25% approval rating among Ohio voters, up from 55%-23% on June 4, according to a new poll released today by Quinnipiac University.  Republicans give the Democratic Governor a 47%-35% job approval, while he’s at 57%-27% among independents.

"With a little more than two years to go in his first term, Gov. Strickland would have to be considered a strong candidate for re-election," said Peter Brown, the Assistant Director of the Quinnipiac's polling institute.  "By a 47 - 31 percent margin, voters think Gov. Strickland has kept his 2006 campaign promises, 40 - 33 percent among independents."

Democrat Richard Corday has an 18-point lead over Republican Mike Crites in the race for Attorney General, 44%-26%, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. But nearly three out of four Ohio voters know much about either candidate.

Cordray, the incumbent State Treasurer, has a favorable rating of 19%-4%, while Crites, a former federal prosecutor from Cincinnati, has a 11%-3% favorable rating.

A new Quinnipiac University poll gives President George W. Bush has an upside-down 26%-70% disapproval rating among New Jersey voters, who say (62%-34%) that going to war in Iraq was the wrong thing to do.