Republicans Portman, Kasich lead in Ohio races
Republicans Rob Portman, a former White House budget director, and John Kasich, a former House member, so far are leading in their races for new jobs in economically hard-hit and politically important Ohio.
That’s according to our new Reuters-Ipsos poll.
Portman leads Democrat Lee Fisher in the U.S. Senate race by 43 percent to 36 percent in the poll of likely voters, with less than three months to go until the Nov. 2 congressional elections.
Kasich has a 48 percent to 39 percent lead over incumbent Democrat Ted Strickland in the Ohio governor’s race.
High on the minds of Ohio voters is the state’s weak economy, which has a 10.5 percent jobless rate, a percentage point higher than the U.S. rate. The poll said 79 percent of those surveyed saw the economy as the state’s biggest problem, with weak government and corrupt politicians a distant second at 12 percent.
Portman and Fisher are battling to replace the retiring Republican Sen. George Voinovich and the Ohio seat is among about a half-dozen open Republican seats the party must defend in competitive races.
Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed (steelworkers wait to meet President Obama in Youngstown, Ohio, May 18)
A fourth Senate Republican won’t seek reelection
WASHINGTON – Democrats came up just short of a winning a filibuster-proof majority of 60 in the 100-member Senate in last November’s election. But they may do it in next year’s contest — thanks largely to a rising number of Senate Republicans calling it quits.
George Voinovich – a highly respected, two-term moderate — on Monday became the fourth Senate Republican to announce he won’t seek reelection in 2010.
Voinovich’s decision followed earlier such announcements by Republican Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Mel Martinez of Florida and Kit Bond of Missouri.
So far, there’s been no official word that any of the Democrats up for reelection next year won’t seek another term — though Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s pending Senate replacement is expected to step aside in 2010. That would open the way for an anticipated run by Biden’s son Beau Biden, Delaware’s attorney general.
Traditionally, Senate incumbents have a number of advantages over challengers, including name recognition and the ability to raise money.
Voinovich, who next year will mark his 74th birthday and 44th year in public office, said it’s time for him to move on.
“I still have the fire in my belly to do the work of our nation, but after serving the next two years, it will be time to step back,” Voinovich said in a statement.
