Ohio Leads Nation In Slip In Democratic Partisan ID, D's Still Have 10 Point Lead

From the Washington Post political blog "The Fix," new data from Gallup indicates that Ohio lead the country in the drop in the number of self-identified Democrats. At the end of 2008, Democrats had an 18 point edge in partisan self-ID in Ohio. At the end of 2009, that edge is now down to 10 percent, an 8 point drop.

But wait! You're surely wondering. If Democrats do have a 10 point edge in partisan self-ID in Ohio, why are the polls so close in our Governor and Senator races? Well, Ohio has lots of what I like to call Kentucky Democrats. They are fiscally liberal -- they believe in a government provided safety net -- but tend to be socially conservative. The congressional districts of Zack Space, Charlie Wilson, and to a lesser extent, Tim Ryan are filled with these sorts of Democrats. They are probably not too thrilled about President Obama's SOTU promise to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell. And, my gut is telling me that these voters, plus some true independents who identified as D last year when the party was riding high, are driving the lower Democratic self-ID. 

The good news is, many of these sorts of Democrats are socially conservative union members, or union household members, who we can keep on our side of the fence with an aggressive economic agenda of job creation, help for the unemployed, and, yes, HEALTH CARE REFORM. That's why this data from Gallup, to me anyway, is yet more evidence that we need to pass the freaking bill.