Strickland ahead in the Polls

Columbus, Ohio - Ohio gubernatorial candidate Congressman Ted Strickland continues to maintain a sizable advantage in the final stretch of the campaign.

Three independent public opinion polls released recently show Strickland leads Republican state-office holder J. Kenneth Blackwell by between 24 - 28 points.

Strickland is ahead by 27 points - a 59 – 32 advantage - according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll released today. (http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x19393.xml?ReleaseID=971)

A New York Times/ CBS News Poll, also released today, shows Strickland leading by 24 points, 53 - 29. (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/18/us/politics/18poll.html)

Today's polls are similar to an independent SurveyUSA Poll released late last week, which showed Strickland with a 28 point lead over his opponent, 60 - 32. (http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportEmail.aspx?g=b6981613-3f0e-466d-811c-cfa9a6c1111b)

"Ted continues to earn the trust of Ohio voters. Ohioans are ready for a new direction after years of Blackwell-Taft broken-trust, scandal and corruption," said Strickland campaign spokesman Keith Dailey.

According to a Quinnipiac University press release, Peter Brown, assistant director of the University's Polling Institute, said, "Rep. Ted Strickland's lead is large; it is broad and it is deep...."

Blackwell is viewed unfavorably by 39 percent of the voters surveyed in the Quinnipiac poll.

Brown added: "A candidate can't win an election if more voters view him unfavorably than favorably. Ken Blackwell's problem isn't that voters don't think they know enough about him. His problem is they think they do, and don't like him."