Chrissie Thompson

cthompson@usatoday.com

John Kasich would perform better than any other Republican in a general election matchup against Democrat Hillary Clinton, and he is among the two best Republicans to take on Democrat Bernie Sanders, a USA TODAY / Suffolk University poll shows.

But the national poll, taken Thursday through Monday, ranks the Ohio governor fourth among Republicans' first-choice presidential candidates. He finishes well behind Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and edges out Jeb Bush.

Among all voters, Kasich performs the best out of the top four Republicans in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup with Democrat Hillary Clinton. More than 49 percent of voters say they would choose him, while 38 percent say they would vote for Clinton.

Skeptics have often questioned Kasich's ability to win over GOP voters, given his moderate stances on issues such as Medicaid expansion and immigration. Still, Kasich has continued to sell bipartisanship and defend his moderate stances at campaign stops, even in the conservative South. The poll suggests that strategy, combined with his attempt to stay out of the fray at GOP debates, has sunk in nationally with independents as the Republican nominating contest has continued.

The next strongest Republican against Clinton is Marco Rubio, who leads Clinton 47.5 percent to 41.6 percent. Trump and Cruz edge out Clinton by less than 2 percentage points. The pollsters did not include a head-to-head matchup with the fifth-place Republican, Bush.

Against Sanders, Kasich's margin is slimmer. Nearly 44 percent say they would choose Kasich, while 40.7 percent say they would vote for Sanders.

Rubio has a slightly bigger margin than Kasich over Sanders, 45.8 percent to 41.8 percent. The poll shows Trump over Sanders by 1 percentage point and Sanders defeating Cruz by 2 percentage points.

The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

Kasich has long pointed to his strength in swing-state Ohio as an advantage to his presidential candidacy. No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio, and polls have shown his approval rating in the state tops 60 percent.

Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, was unsuccessful in fending off Kasich's challenge to the office in 2010. The Democrat hopes to run again in 2016, this time for U.S. Senate.

But Strickland, a close ally of Clinton, this week acknowledged Kasich's continued strength in the state and the problem his candidacy could pose for Democrats competing in Ohio.

"That'd make it tough for me," Strickland told The Enquirer editorial board, referencing Kasich as a possible GOP nominee.