Two polls unveiled on Wednesday find President Barack Obama ahead of the two leading Republican hopefuls -- former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania -- in the swing state of Ohio.
With 18 Electoral College votes on the line in the Buckeye State in November, Ohio is a crucial state for any Republican presidential nominee -- in fact, no GOP presidential candidate has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio.
In the last century, Ohio has almost always backed the winning presidential candidate. Obama carried it in 2008, taking 52 percent to John McCain's 47 percent. George W. Bush carried the Buckeye State by small margins twice -- beating Al Gore by 3 percent in 2000 and John Kerry by 2 percent in 2004. Only twice in the last century has Ohio backed the losing presidential candidate -- in 1960 when Richard Nixon carried the state over John F. Kennedy and in 1944 when Republican vice presidential nominee John Bricker, the popular governor of Ohio who would later serve in the U.S. Senate, helped propel Thomas Dewey over Franklin Roosevelt in the Buckeye State.
A poll of Ohio from Rasmussen Reports released Wednesday finds Obama taking 48 percent when matched up against Romney. Eight percent back other candidates in the race and 3 percent are undecided.
While Romney won the Ohio primary by a small margin, Santorum does better against Obama in the Rasmussen poll. Obama takes 47 percent to Santorum's 41 percent. Seven percent back other candidates and 5 percent are undecided.
The Rasmussen poll of 500 likely Ohio voters was taken March 26 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percent.
Romney did better than Santorum against Obama in an Ohio poll released by Quinnipiac University on Wednesday, but both Republican hopefuls trail the Democrat incumbent in the Buckeye State.
Obama takes 47 percent when matched up against Romney, who garners 41 percent. Two percent say they would back other candidates. When pitted against Santorum, Obama remains at 47 percent to Santorum's 40 percent. Three percent back other candidates.
Despite Obama's leads in the poll against both Romney and Santorum, the poll did show that he could be vulnerable in Ohio come November. While 47 percent approve of the job Obama has done in the White House, 49 percent of those surveyed disapprove of it. When asked whether Obama deserves another four years in office, Ohio voters split evenly at 48 percent on both sides.
The Quinnipiac poll of 1,246 Ohio voters was taken from March 20-26 and had a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
