John Kasich

Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks during a campaign stop, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, in Pawleys Island, S.C.

(Matt Rourke, The Associated Press)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Unlike the rest of the Republican field, Ohio Gov. John Kasich would comfortably beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a general election matchup in his home state, according to a new poll.

The poll of Ohio voters, performed by Quinnipiac University and released Wednesday, found Kasich leading Clinton 54 percent to 37 percent, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 54 percent to 35 percent. While Kasich has struggled to win support among GOP voters since placing second in the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary, the new survey is the latest that suggests Kasich would be the strongest Republican candidate against Clinton, who is viewed as the Democratic frontrunner.

The next-closest candidate is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who led Clinton 47 percent to 42 percent. The rest of the Republican field led Clinton, but fell within the poll's 2.5 percent margin of error. Businessman Donald Trump, who has dominated early GOP primary elections, topped Clinton 44 percent to 42 percent, while the poll showed Trump tied with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at 44 percent.

"The four leading Republican candidates either tie or lead former Secretary Clinton in Ohio, considered the best microcosm of the national electorate and a must-win for the GOP. Republicans have never won the White House without carrying Ohio," Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a written statement.

The poll supports an argument Kasich has made on the campaign trail -- that he is the Republicans' best shot to win the general election. But Kasich, who has positioned himself as a moderate in the Republican race, has fared less well among GOP primary voters, including in Ohio. He came in last place in Tuesday's GOP caucus in Nevada, and has faced pressure from the Republican establishment to bow out.

While he has the highest favorability rating of any GOP candidate in Ohio, the Quinnipiac poll found Trump leading Kasich 31 percent to 26 percent, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz coming in third with 21 percent, as reported by cleveland.com on Tuesday.

"I would hope they would be clearing the decks for me," Kasich said during a Tuesday campaign stop in Georgia, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I've spent the least amount of money and am rising in the polls. I can win my home state. Why would I clear the decks for them? They ought to be consolidating around me."

The poll was conducted between Feb. 16 and 20 -- the days leading up to last Saturday's South Carolina primary -- and surveyed 1,539 registered Ohio voters using cell phones and land lines.



Ohio's primary election will take place on March 15.

U.S. Senate

The Quinnipiac poll, as well as another new poll performed by Baldwin Wallace University, show the U.S. Senate race in which Republican Rob Portman faces re-election, as a virtual tie.

The Quinnipiac poll found former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, leading Portman 44 percent to 42 percent. City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, an underdog Democratic candidate, trailed Portman 48 percent to 29 percent. The poll found that the vast majority of Ohio voters don't know who Sittenfeld is, with 85 percent saying they didn't know enough about him to make an opinion.

Meanwhile, the Baldwin Wallace poll showed Portman leading Strickland 44 percent to 40 percent, while Portman would beat Sittenfeld 51 percent to 26 percent.

Neither poll included Kelli Prather, an occupational therapist from Cincinnati. She is the race's third candidate and never has held elected office.

The Baldwin Wallace poll, conducted online between Feb. 11 and Feb. 20 among 825 likely Ohio voters using online panel data, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.