"Strickland On Ticket Won't Help Dems"
So says the Quinnipiac Poll that just came out. Of course, these polls, especially on the VP slot, are notoriously fickle. But it's interesting food for thought this far out.
While Democratic Gov. Strickland was overwhelmingly elected in November 2006, only 13 percent of Ohio voters, including 20 percent of Democrats, are more likely to vote for the Democratic ticket next year if Strickland is running as Vice President. Eleven percent of voters say they are less likely to vote for a Strickland ticket and 68 percent say it won’t affect their vote.
“Even though Gov. Strickland is very popular among Ohioans, they do not see him as vice presidential material and do not give any indication he would be substantial help to the Democratic nominee in carrying Ohio’s crucial electoral votes,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.
And...
21. Do you think Governor Ted Strickland is qualified to be Vice President of
the United States or don't you think so?
WtBrnAgn
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl
Yes 29% 20% 38% 30% 29% 29% 30%
No 49 58 40 49 51 47 46
DK/NA 23 22 22 21 20 25 24
22. Would you like Ted Strickland to run as the Democratic candidate for Vice
President in 2008 or not?
WtBrnAgn
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl
Yes 25% 16% 33% 25% 24% 26% 27%
No 53 62 47 52 55 51 49
DK/NA 22 22 20 23 20 23 24
23. If Ted Strickland is the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate in 2008,
would that make you more likely to vote for the Democratic ticket, less likely,
or wouldn't it make a difference?
WtBrnAgn
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl
More likely 13% 4% 20% 16% 14% 13% 12%
Less likely 11 23 4 9 13 9 13
Would't make diff 68 68 69 66 66 70 67
DK/NA 7 5 8 9 7 8 7
Interesting numbers. First off, I have a hard time believing that question #23's "would you be more likely to vote for the Democratic ticket if Ted's on it, really amounts to a hill of beans. People vote for the top of the ticket. Ted may make things easier to go down, or help us get our foot in the door, but ultimately, voters will have to be comfortable with whomever we put at the top.
Another interesting note, question #22 shows that as of now, close to half of those polled would prefer Ted not be on the ticket. There are a lot of strong Ted supporters out there, like myself and others in the 'sphere, that wouldn't necessarily like him on the ticket. Afterall, there's plenty in Ohio to get done.
The poll also found Giuliani improving his Ohio standing, and that George Bush currently has the lowest approval ratings in Ohio of any Quinny poll...confirming the Ohio Poll's finding from last week of similar disapproval numbers.
The full poll, of 1,231 Ohio voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points, is available here.
