John Kasich

Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks during a town hall at Thomas farms Community Center on Monday, April 25, 2016, in Rockville, Md.

(Evan Vucci, The Associated Press)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohioans generally like Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich, but think he should give up on his presidential ambitions, according to a poll released Monday.

The poll, by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-aligned firm, found that 49 percent of Ohioans think Kasich should drop out of the race, while 38 percent say he should continue running for president.

Contributing to that number are Republican voters, 58 percent of whom say Kasich should come home.

Meanwhile, 46 percent of Ohioans approve of the job Kasich is doing as governor. Forty percent of Ohioans disapprove.

Kasich's approval rating has fallen off since the last time PPP polled in Ohio in March. The firm found on March 10 that Kasich had a 54 percent approval rating, compared to 36 percent who disapproved.

The erosion in Kasich's approval ratings seems to be driven by a drop in support among Ohio Republican voters -- the March poll found that 73 percent of Republican voters approved of his job performance, while Monday's poll found that number was 58 percent.

Kasich is trailing in a distant third in the Republican presidential race, and for weeks has been mathematically eliminated from the race. But he continues to campaign on the message that he is most able to win a general election, betting that Republicans will select him at a contested GOP convention in Cleveland.

Kasich said last week in Oregon, which will hold its GOP primary on May 17, that he considered dropping out of the race. But, according to the New York Times, his wife, Karen, encouraged him to stay in.

"She said: 'The people need a choice. And if you don't give them a choice, who will?'" Kasich said. "So I've decided to keep going. And there are going to be people who are going to criticize me for that. And it's not always an easy road. I'm going to do my very best."

The poll of 799 registered voters was conducted April 26 and 27, using a combination of phones and an opt-in Internet panel. The stated margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Two-thirds of poll respondents disapproved of taxpayers underwriting Kasich's six-figure security detail while he campaigns in other states -- it's not completely clear what the exact cost is, because state officials haven't confirmed the number and state records are somewhat ambiguous.

But records available through Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel's online state checkbook suggest Kasich's security detail could cost at least $450,000, which is the figure poll respondents were asked about.

Some other findings of the poll:

Ohioans view Kasich the most favorably of any presidential candidate

Forty-three percent view Kasich unfavorably, compared to 41 percent who view him favorably, the poll found.

That might not sound great, but consider the other presidential candidates:

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner and former secretary of state -- 37 percent view her favorably, compared to 55 percent unfavorably.

Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner and celebrity real estate mogul -- 35 percent view him favorably, and 57 percent view him unfavorably.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is in second place in the Republican primary -- 21 percent view him favorably, versus 62 percent who view him unfavorably.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who trails Clinton in the Democratic race -- 36 percent view him favorably, compared to 52 percent who view him unfavorably.

The numbers support the Kasich's campaign electability argument. In hypothetical head-to-head matchups, Kasich would beat Clinton in Ohio 43 percent to 41 percent, while Trump would lose to Clinton 45 percent to 42 percent.

Gender divide over Trump, Clinton



Specifically among female voters, Trump, who has made a number of offensive comments regarding women over the years, has the highest unfavorability rating of any candidate at 66 percent.

Second is Cruz, with a 61 percent unfavorability rating. Clinton is viewed unfavorably by 46 percent of women, compared to 44 percent who view her favorably. Kasich's margin among female voters is similar at 39 percent favorable/40 percent unfavorable.

But among men, Clinton is viewed unfavorably by a 64 percent to 30 percent margin. Trump, meanwhile, is viewed unfavorably by 48 percent of men, compared to 45 who view him favorably. Sanders is viewed unfavorably by 54 percent of men, compared to 37 percent who view him favorably.

Ohio Senate race a toss-up

Thirty-eight percent of poll respondents said they'd vote for Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, while another 38 percent said they'd vote for his Democratic challenger Ted Strickland, a former Ohio governor.

Another 24 percent aren't sure whom they'd vote for.

Most support hike in federal minimum wage

Seventy-three percent said the federal government should increase its minimum wage to at least $10 an hour. Fourteen percent said they supported keeping the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour (Ohio's minimum wage is $8.10 an hour), while 10 percent supported getting rid of it entirely.

Ohioans think SCOTUS nomination should move forward

Fifty-three percent of poll respondents said the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Antonin Scalia's death should be filled this year, as opposed to waiting until next year.