Poll: Portman on GOP ticket doesn't change Ohio race
(CNN) - Would adding Ohio Sen. Rob Portman to the Republican ticket help Mitt Romney capture the all important battleground state?
A new poll indicates the answer is no.
According to a Quinnipiac University survey released Thursday, the battle for the Buckeye State's 18 electoral votes is basically a tie right now. Forty-five percent of Ohio registered voters questioned in the poll say they are backing President Barack Obama, with 44% saying they support Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Obama's one-point margin over Romney is well within the survey's sampling error.
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The poll indicates the general election race remains a dead heat if Portman is chosen for the No. 2 spot on the Republican ticket, with Obama at 45% and Romney at 45%. The former congressman from Ohio, budget director and trade representative under President George W. Bush was elected to the Senate in 2010. His name has come up often lately as someone Romney may seriously be considering as his running mate.
"Adding Sen. Rob Portman to the Romney ticket produces no measurable change, despite speculation about Portman's potential for helping Romney carry the key state of Ohio," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling institute.
"Republicans have never won the White House without Ohio and in 2004, for instance, George W. Bush won the state and re-election by 2%, so every little change is important," added Brown.
Surprisingly, nearly six in ten Ohio voters say they don't know enough about Portman to form an opinion, with 26% viewing him favorably and 14% having an unfavorable opinion.
According to the poll, 45% of independent voters say they would support a Romney-Portman ticket, with 39% backing the Obama-Vice President Joe Biden ticket.
The survey indicates Ohio voters are divided on how the president's handled his duties in office, with 49% saying they approve of the job he's doing and 48% saying they disapprove.
Ohio has proved crucial in recent presidential contests. It was the state that put President George W. Bush over the top in his 2004 re-election. Obama won the state by 5-points in his 2008 White House victory.
In the state's crucial Senate race, 46% of those questioned say they support Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown, with 40% backing Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel, the GOP challenger. Brown had a ten-point lead over Mandel in Quinnipiac's March survey. Brown has a 42% to 38% margin over Mandel among independent voters.
The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted between May 2 and May 7, with 1,069 registered voters questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.
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Considering Obama has been living part time in Ohio (on the taxpayer dime) for Romney to be even is very good news for him. I'm sure Obama's gay stance will hurt him in Ohio so I wonder what the next poll will show.
No one on the ticket as VP will change peoples mind. It will be Romney himself to do so. Some are thinking what happened in 2008 election. That was extra ordinary situation which, even the blind could feel it even not able to see it.
From the look of the photo, they look like a couple of stiffs. I don't see Willard winning Ohio. There is a real senator that speaks for the people in Ohio and his name is Sherrod Brown.
Is this really a surprise? Not only does the teapublikans have the WORST choice for president in the in ghe history of these United States but they can't find a vp to help him either.
The drag from the top of the Republican ticket is just too strong.
The perfect 10 - a 1 and a 0 standing side by side.
Dear Bishop Romney,
You need rabid credentials, flip flop and etch-a-sketch are not enough to fool America.
You need Senator Joe McCarthy from Wisconsin as VP.
Anti communist, willing to crush a ten year kid or a ninety year woman.
He is true Republican, a T bagger before Guv Walker was born.
Senator Joe is ferocious, becoming evil to fight evil, the best Republican hypocrite that can bought.
Your fellow American enemy,
George
It does not matter who he puts on the ticket, he still loses in November. Again, the worst general election candidate in over a generation.
Don't these two look like a great couple?
one would really hope the people in ohio had learned something about what the gop stand for...and really they can attest to the fact it is not for The People in the middle or lower!
Ohio was the State that put GWB over the top in 2004 and it was GWB that put the hard working great people of Ohio in the soup lines, I'll never forget. The people of Ohio have always been hard working honest Middle Class people, I know, I am a Ohio born native and they deserve better. It saddens me to think about how these families who gave so much, and lost so much, they deserve better.
Gov. Robme being on the ticket doesn't change the outcome either. OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
mitts got his –i just sent your job to china face on to-day
Obama 2012,
Obama's position on gay marriages will hurt him among conservative Christians. But the same people also think that Mormonism is a cult. Social issues are double-edged swords. Romney does not have much credibility among conservative Christians.
Obama 2012!
Waal Maggie, do you think we will get some fiscal responsibility this time from Obama. Wall, Homer I don't know. We will jusz half to hope for the best. Do you think the Rain will hurt the Ruhbarb? Which rhubarb are we talking about Maggie? I thohght there waz only one. Yez that's right. Barry and Willard. Waal we will get more from Barry don't you think? Willard wants uz to fend for ourselves. Ain't tht what we are a gonna be doing after Barry gets thru? I Recon so.
Romney could pick Michelle Bachman who now has dual U.S. – Switzerland citizenship. They could visit Romney's money there often.