Kasich very unpopular, would lose do-over to Strickland by 15
PPP – Raleigh, N.C. – Scott Walker’s actions in Wisconsin have elicited more publicity than John Kasich’s in Ohio, but PPP’s latest survey of the Buckeye State shows that Governor Kasich is the one in greater trouble with voters. He beat Ted Strickland by two points last fall, but if voters could do it over, they would have Strickland back in a heartbeat.
Strickland went out of office with a -5 net job approval margin, and Walker had a -6 in PPP’s Wisconsin poll a few weeks ago, but Kasich is now three or four times worse off, with only 35% approvaing and 54% disapproving of his performance so far. That puts him in the company of a lot of the governors who retired or were defeated for re-election last fall.
Along those lines, Strickland would win a re-do election right now by 15 points, 55-40. The poll’s respondents report voting for Strickland over Kasich by three points and Barack Obama over John McCain also by three (Obama won the state by four), reflecting a return to an electorate more like 2008’s than 2010’s heavy Republican turnout. 13% of Kasich’s voters would cast their ballot for Strickland today instead, and those who did not vote favor Strickland by a whopping 57-13. Independents heavily favored Kasich in November, but they now just as strongly back Strickland, 56-36.
