Poll: Strickland leads Portman in Ohio Senate race

WASHINGTON — Ted Strickland, Ohio's former Democratic governor, has a 9 percentage-point lead over Republican Sen. Rob Portman in the 2016 Senate race, according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll released Monday.

Buckeye State voters support Strickland over Portman, 48 percent to 39 percent, according to the survey.

But Portman, who is seeking a second term, would easily beat another Democratic contender in the race, Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld.

Sittenfeld and Strickland are facing off in the Democratic primary, with the winner to face Portman in the general election. Ohio voters back Portman over Sittenfeld 47 percent to 27 percent, the poll found.

That's probably because few Ohio voters outside of the Cincinnati area have even heard of the city councilman. Almost 90 percent of poll respondents said they had not heard enough about Sittenfeld to form an opinion of him.

Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll, said Portman also has a name ID problem.

"Only slightly more than half of voters say they know enough to have an opinion of him," Brown said. "Strickland, who has been out of office since 2010, is very well-known. Three-quarters have an opinion and it is favorable by 20 percentage points."

About 38 percent of Ohio voters have a favorable opinion of Portman, while 49 percent have a positive view of Strickland. The former Ohio governor has an 18 percentage-point edge among independents.

Quinnipiac University conducted the survey March 17 to 28, interviewing 1,077 Ohio voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The Senate election is 19 months away, but with three candidates in the race, it's already starting to heat up. The national parties have tagged Ohio, a quintessential swing state, as a key contest in the battle for control of the Senate in the next election.

Portman raised $2.75 million in the first three months of this year and ended the first quarter with more than $8 million, according to figures released by his campaign last week.

The first quarter ended March 31, but candidates do not have to file their campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission until April 15.

Sittenfeld announced Monday that his campaign had raised about $750,000 -- a number a spokesman trumpeted as evidence he has momentum.

"The fact that a candidate running statewide for the first time could raise more than three-quarters of a million dollars in less than three months shows how hungry people are for fresh ideas and bold new leadership," said Sittenfeld spokesman Dale Butland. "This report puts P.G. Sittenfeld in the first tier of Senate candidates across the country -- and proves he's a serious contender for the Democratic nomination to take on Rob Portman."

Strickland's campaign has not yet announced his fundraising figures for the first quarter.