CLEVELAND, Ohio – Another poll released Wednesday of the presidential contest in Ohio found a close race between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden, indicating the state is settling into firm battleground territory.
The poll from Quinnipiac University, often considered the “gold standard” in presidential polling, found only a 1-percentage point split between Biden and Trump, a statistical tie. That result tracks with others in recent weeks that show Ohio – where Trump won by 8 percentage points in 2016 – up for grabs.
The poll was conducted from June 18-22 with a sample size of 1,139 self-identified registered voters. Answers were collected with live interviewers via contacting landlines and cell phones. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 2.9 percentage points.
Biden had a slim lead over Trump in the poll, with 46% saying they would vote for Biden if the election were today compared to 45% who said they would pick Trump.
As in past polls, there was a deep gender divide. Women backed Biden over Trump by a margin of 53% to 37%, while men were the inverse, with 54% supporting Trump and 38% for Biden.
Education was also a key factor, with nearly the same split of voters. Biden carried voters with a four-year college degree, 57% to 36%. Those without a four-year college degree skewed toward Trump at 56% to 35%.
However, both candidates continue to have favorability concerns. Both had net-unfavorable ratings.
Forty-five percent of respondents said they had an unfavorable view of Biden, compared to 42% who viewed him positively.
Views of Trump were much more negative, with 53% of voters holding unfavorable views of the president to 43% who viewed him favorably. A similar split of respondents answered the same about Trump’s job performance.
Trump, once again, continued to be outshined by his Republican counterpart in the state, Gov. Mike DeWine. DeWine posted some of the highest approval ratings of his career. DeWine boasted a net-positive approval rating, with 75% of respondents saying they approved of the job he was doing and 19% saying they disapproved. Around the same split of people said they approved of the way DeWine was handling the coronavirus crisis, while Trump lagged, with 54% saying they disapproved and 43% saying they approved.
But perhaps most troubling for Trump is the shifting nature of opinion over several crises and political movements that don’t work to his favor. Biden posted a slight lead over Trump on who voters thought would respond better to a crisis, including the coronavirus pandemic.
And support seems to be growing for the recent protests over police brutality toward minorities, though not every policy put forward was popular.
More than half of respondents said they viewed the Black Lives Matter movement favorably and police aren’t held accountable for misconduct. Sixty-four percent said discrimination against Black people in the United States is a serious problem. Fifty-four percent of voters said Biden would handle race relations better, with only 38% saying Trump would.
However, several policies attached to the protests – such as pulling funding from police departments – did not win strong support. And a wide majority of Ohioans said they approved of the way police were doing their job.
More than half of the respondents said they viewed the Black Lives Matter movement favorably and police aren’t held accountable for misconduct. Sixty-four percent said discrimination against Black people in the United States is a serious problem. Fifty-four percent of voters said Biden would handle race relations better, with only 38% saying Trump would.
Voters preferred Trump on who would better handle the economy, with 53% saying Trump would handle the economy better and 43% choosing Biden.
While DeWine’s approval rating was sky-high, other Ohio officials didn’t do as well in the poll. Both Republicans and Democrats in the Ohio legislature had a net negative approval rating -- 45% disapproval to 42% approval.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown came out ahead, with 47% approving and 34% disapproving of the job he’s doing. But only 37% approved of the job Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman is doing, compared to 38% who disapproved.
Read more cleveland.com coverage:
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