New poll gives Ted Strickland a 6-point edge over incumbent Rob Portman in U.S. Senate race

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, holds a six-point advantage over incumbent Republican Sen. Rob Portman for the 2016 election in a new poll of Ohio voters released Monday.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, conducted June 4-15 simultaneously with polls for 2016 Senate races in Florida and Pennsylvania, found that Portman polled far ahead of another Democratic challenger, Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld.

But despite Strickland's lead, a strong job approval rating for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, coupled with a low rating for President Barack Obama, a Democrat, suggests that the Senate race could be close, said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll.

"Gov. John Kasich was re-elected in a landslide in 2014, while President Barack Obama carried the Buckeye State comfortably in 2012," Brown said.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/06/new_poll_gives_ted_strickland.html