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There's a Trumpian Imprint in Ohio's U.S. Senate Race

The Portage County Board of Elections is spending about $1.3 million on the switch to optically scanned paper ballots.
WKSU
The Portage County Board of Elections is spending about $1.3 million on the switch to optically scanned paper ballots.

President Trump is likely to have a big impact on Ohio’s U.S. Senate race this fall  – for better and worse. WKSU’s M.L. Schultze has more on some of the indicators in the latest Quinnipiac poll.

Five months before the election, the poll shows incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown well ahead of his Republican challenger, Congressman Jim Renacci (51-34 percent).

A nasty ad war is already underway in the Ohio Senate campaign
Credit RENACCI FOR SENATE / YOUTUBE
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YOUTUBE
A nasty ad war is already underway in the Ohio Senate campaign

And it shows the top issues in the Senate race are:

  • Healthcare (28),
  • The economy (25)
  • Immigration (15)
  • Guns (14)

But nearly 60 percent of respondents said President Trump will be a factor in their Senate vote: 28 percent to show they support the president and 30 percent to show their opposition.

And very few people haven’t made up their mind when it comes to the president. On a question rating Trump’s performance, 43 percent said they approve, 54 percent said no.

The evaluations of Trump break largely along the lines of age, race and sex. White men are the only demographic that approves of his performance. Young voters age 18-34 most strongly condemn how Trump is handling the job.

When the same question was asked of how Sen. Brown is handling his job, 55 percent approved, 29 percent disapproved. Fewer than 1-5 voters say they just don't know enough about him to make up their minds. Renacci has a lot bigger group of question marks: fully half say they haven't heard enough about him.

Quinnipiac measures of Sherrod Brown's approval ratings during his last term
Credit M.L. Schultze / WKSU public radio
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WKSU public radio
Quinnipiac measures of Sherrod Brown's approval ratings during his last term

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M.L. Schultze
M.L. Schultze came to WKSU as news director in July 2007 after 25 years at The Repository in Canton, where she was managing editor for nearly a decade. She’s now the digital editor and an award-winning reporter and analyst who has appeared on NPR, Here and Now and the TakeAway, as well as being a regular panelist on Ideas, the WVIZ public television's reporter roundtable.