Ohio's Early Voters Give Obama A Running Head Start in Buckeye State:
John McCain and Barack Obama are tied at 47% each in Ohio, among voters who have not yet cast a ballot, but who tell SurveyUSA they are certain to do so on or before election day.
But, among those in Ohio who tell SurveyUSA they have already voted, Barack Obama leads by 17 points. When the two populations are combined, the data is as here reported: Obama 49%, McCain 45%. Research sponsored by WCMH-TV Columbus, WKYC-TV Cleveland and WHIO-TV Dayton. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released two weeks ago, Obama is down 1 point; McCain is flat.
Democrat Richard Cordray continues to lead Republican Mike Crites in the race for Ohio Attorney General; Cordray defeats Crites by 13 points today, down slightly from a 16-point advantage two weeks ago. Independent Robert Owens takes 8% of the vote today; 9% of voters are undecided in this contest. Ballot Issue 5, concerning payday lending, could go either way: 32% of Ohio voters say they are certain to vote "Yes" on the measure, 43% certain to vote "No," but with 25% of voters not yet certain, any outcome is possible. Among those who have already voted, "Yes" leads "No" by 10 points.
Ballot Issue 6, which would allow the construction of a casino in Clinton County, trails: 40% of voters say they are certain to vote "Yes" on 6, 54% are certain to vote "No." Among those who have already voted, the measure is defeated even more decisively.
Filtering: 800 adults interviewed; of them, 736 were registered to vote; of them, 648 were identified by SurveyUSA as having already voted or as being likely to vote on or before election day. Ohio has 20 electoral votes. George W. Bush carried the state by 4 points in 2000 and by 2 points in 2004. |