Rob Portman, Ohio Senate Candidate & Former Bush Budget Director, Leads Dem Lee Fisher

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)-- Former Bush budget director Rob Portman is enjoying a commanding advantage over his Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, in the race for Ohio's open Senate seat, according to a poll.

A Quinnipiac University survey released Friday shows Portman, a former Republican member of Congress, with a 20 percentage point lead over Fisher, a veteran of state politics who has seen his campaign founder. Fisher has badly lagged in fundraising, seen high turnover on his staff and drawn criticism from Washington Democrats who had hoped to flip the seat being vacated by GOP Sen. George Voinovich.

Portman garners 55 percent support, Fisher 35 percent in the poll taken Sept. 9 to Sept. 14. The poll of 730 likely voters has an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

While Fisher has had President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other Democratic heavyweights visit the state to boost his campaign, the efforts seem to have not much helped.

The poll found six of 10 voters want a senator who opposes Obama's policies. That is a startling figure for the president, whose likely re-election campaign in 2012 will require a victory in Ohio if he is to earn a second term.

Outside groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Bush adviser-run American Crossroads, have spent heavily in the state to damage Fisher, who led the state's economic development programs as the recession began. Republicans hope to pin the state's unemployment on Fisher and Democrats - and not President George W. Bush, who was in the White House as the economy worsened in 2007 and 2008.

Portman served as Bush's budget director and then trade ambassador. He later was an adviser to Sen. John McCain's unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign.

Comments

[dsgeorge]

11:58 AM on 09/20/2010

And here I thought Ohio was starting to "get it" in 2008....guess they are sheep....like I always thought they were...isn't this where Joe the Plumber is from? Enough said.

[DevonTexas]

09:07 AM on 09/20/2010

Thanks Ohio! You've got a chance to redeem yourself after Boehner. Don't blow it.

[RedDog79]

10:38 AM on 09/20/2010

unfortunately Ohio is loaded with Republicans. These republicans date back to the days when the party made more sense - that said . . . as a registered Indenpendent in the state I can tell you that it is a struggle to find people who don't adhere to the republican ideals - they dont' know why they vote republican they just do - that's how long this state has been indocturniated with republican beliefs. It was a surprise when a democrat won governor. Now he is being beat up by Kasich a wall streeter and Kasich is leading. it is disgusting to see. So, while I share your wishes that Democratic candidates win - I wouldn't count on it.
As a registered Independent I was rejected from working the polls because I wasn't a registered Democrat or Republican. YOu'd think they'd want an independent who wasn't for either party just the best candidate - it's not my fault that the best candidates are Democrats.

[zxrod]

08:56 AM on 09/20/2010

Nobody's polled me here in Ohio..

[Gaylord P Farqua]

08:33 AM on 09/20/2010

Just what the Buckeyes need another Republican. It is so inconceivable that states like Ohio that have suffered such devastating unemployment cannot connect the dots back to Gomer and THE DICK's regime and insist upon blaming the current administration. Any reasonable analysis of the policies of the GOP which were blatantly skewed to reward the rich should provide the working people of Ohio and any other state with the reason to keep them out of office. But, unfortunately we live in a time where patience is rare and quick fixes rule. It took Gomer and friends eight years to destroy the economy and yet we expect Obama and company to fix it in less than two. If the GOP is successful they are going find that their alliance with the Tea Party may be more than they can deal with. The result could easily be more years of grid lock in Congress while too many Americans continue to lose jobs, homes, insurance, and are unable to educate their children or meet even basic expenses.

[mmille732003]

05:19 AM on 09/20/2010

Get and vote Democratic America. Now's not the time for apathy! Republicans will destroy the social safety net if they rule. They hate it. This admonition is not a 'scare tactic'. It's the truth. Just listen to them.

[namdlogd]

03:18 AM on 09/20/2010

Holy carp, that photo scared the hell outta me, I thought he was back

[Steve1976]

01:30 AM on 09/20/2010

What's happening in Ohio is spreading across the country.

[rjaxone]

12:58 AM on 09/20/2010

Everytime I see a picture of GW Bush, it reminds me of someone who was weened on a pickle....

[maxtwain]

12:33 AM on 09/20/2010

Dems down by 20 in Ohio, so goes Ohio........

[Grannysue]

11:24 PM on 09/19/2010

Bush had a budget director, who knew!

[stape45]

11:34 PM on 09/19/2010

Bush didn't. Apparently, the budget director never knew either.

[RKRM]

11:07 PM on 09/19/2010

Despite a budget surplus of $236 billion in 2000, President Bush left office with a budget deficit of $1.2 trillion. And the budget director? About to be a senator. Wow. Right-wing stupidity at its finest. We're doomed.

[McKeaton]

11:16 PM on 09/19/2010

20 % difference...radical religious old entitled white guys that destroyany help of better life for the rest of 300 million americans.

[JSmithKennan]

11:00 PM on 09/19/2010

This is just stupid.

[HowdyDoody]

10:41 PM on 09/19/2010

How can Ohio voters possibly vote for this guy? The Phantom of the Opera.

And he is one of the people who brought about this collapse in our economy. What's the matter with Ohio, folks?

[FernandoRuiz]

10:30 PM on 09/19/2010

I see there are some conservatives on this board that think Obama has "tripled the deficit". Well guess what conservatives. You're wrong.....again. The 2009 deficit was all Bush's

http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2010/01/cato_dont_blame_1.htm

[HowdyDoody]

10:41 PM on 09/19/2010

Not only that, the deficit was reduced by 8% during Obama's first year in office!

[FernandoRuiz]

10:51 PM on 09/19/2010

Exactly. But none of the c0wardly conservatives will ever give him credit for that

[Wombaticus]

10:20 PM on 09/19/2010

1. To even have this guy in the race is pathetic. To have a poll showing him to be in the lead...I am almost speechless. If that poll is a true rendering of the thinking of the people of Ohio, I can only wonder how many will drown during the next rain storm by looking up at the drops falling.
2. I wonder if there is a matching demographic of how many Ohioans use Fox news as their main information source? I am guessing the ratio would be close to identical.