John Kasich is the overall favorite in his home state of Ohio in potential November presidential race matchups, a new
Quinnipiac University poll shows, with the governor defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 17 percentage points and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by 19 points.
By the numbers:
- Kasich over Clinton, 54 - 37 percent;
- Kasich over Sanders, 54-35 percent;
- Donald Trump over Clinton, 44-42 percent;
- Texas Sen. Ted Cruz over Clinton, 46-43 percent;
- Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, 47 - 42 percent;
- Trump and Sanders tied 44 - 44 percent;
- Sanders over Rubio. 44-42 percent;
- Rubio over Sanders, 44-42 percent.
The numbers would change a bit if former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg enters the race as a third-party candidate, with Trump at 38 percent, Sanders at 35 percent, and Bloomberg at 13 percent; Cruz and Sanders would be tied at 37 - 37 percent, with 11 percent for Bloomberg.
"The four leading Republican candidates either tie or lead former Secretary Clinton in Ohio, considered the best microcosm of the national electorate and a must-win for the GOP," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
"Republicans have never won the White House without carrying Ohio,"
The poll showed Kasich with the best favorability rating of any candidate:
- Kasich, 56 - 28 percent;
- Sanders' 44 - 41 percent;
- Rubio, 36 - 34;
- Clinton, 37 - 57 percent;
- Cruz, 34 - 46 percent;
- Bloomberg, 14 - 30 percent.
Meanwhile, Ohio's Senate race is in statistical tie between Republican incumbent Sen. Rob Portman and Democratic challenger Ted Strickland, a former governor, with 44 percent for Strickland and 42 percent for Portman.
The poll of 1539 registered voters was conducted from Feb. 16-20, and carried a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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