http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/270374-poll-trump-leads-kasich-in-ohioFebruary 23, 2016, 06:45 am
Poll: Trump leads Kasich in Ohio
By Jesse Byrnes
Donald Trump leads in Republican presidential rival John Kasich's home state three weeks before the Ohio primary, according to a new poll.
Trump takes 31 percent support, followed by the Ohio governor at 26 percent, Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) at 21 percent and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) at 13 percent in the Quinnipiac University poll released early Tuesday.
Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson gets 5 percent in the poll of those who are likely to participate in the Republican primary in Ohio on March 15, while 5 percent remain undecided.
More than a third of voters, 38 percent, who named a candidate say they may change their mind before the primary.
Republicans are hoping for the five-person GOP race to winnow over the next couple weeks to present an opportunity for a rival candidate to defeat Trump, who has remained dominant in polling in other states.
Nearly a third of likely Republican voters in Ohio, 32 percent, say they "would definitely not support" Trump, who leads Kasich among men by 9 points and leads among women by just 1 point.
Kasich, who has long maintained high approval ratings in Ohio, is viewed as the most favorable among the candidates in the Buckeye State at 77 percent, while Rubio stands at 62 percent, Cruz at 60 percent and Trump at 57 percent.
In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton leads rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 55 to 40 percent, among likely Democratic primary voters.
The survey of 759 likely GOP and 518 Democratic primary voters was conducted Feb. 16-20 via landlines and cellphones. It has a margin of error of 3.6 points for Republicans and 4.3 points for Democrats.
