Kasich Polls at 2% in Crowded GOP Field
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio –As Gov. John R. Kasich comes closer to announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president, a new Quinnipiac University national poll puts him toward the bottom of what remains a wide-open field .
Among Republican and Republican-leaning poll respondents, Kasich received 2% in the crowded GOP field where no candidate managed more than 10%, a threshold reached by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
A fifth of the respondents said they did not know whom they would choose or did not answer.
“Safe to say, the 2016 Republican presidential primary is anyone’s race,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, in a news release announcing the results. “It’s a horse race which can only be described as a scrambled field – at least so far.”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dominates the Democratic field with 57% support from Democrats or Democratic-leaning voters. She easily reflects more support than U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at 15% and Vice President Joe Biden at 9%.
Kasich, a former congressman who was elected to a second term as governor of Ohio last November, has not formally announced a bid but last month formed the “A New Day for America” 527 group, which today announced Linda DiVall as its pollster and senior adviser.
The Washington Post reports that Kasich is planning to announce a 2016 bid sometime after June 30, citing strategists close to the governor and other longtime friends. Wednesday he was in South Carolina, site of the first primary in the South and scheduled for Feb. 20. He was expected to be in Dallas Thursday.
He also has focused on New Hampshire in the run up to his expected announcement.
The Republican field has expanded in just the past day or so with former New York Gov. George Pataki and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania announcing their bids .
Both Fox News and CNN have said their scheduled debates would include only the 10 top finishers in national polls. With his finish in the Quinnipiac poll, Kasich would be tied for the final slot with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who also received 2% in the poll.
Filling out the top 10 in the poll are U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky (7%), U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas (6%), real-estate mogul Donald Trump (5%) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (4%).
Kasich finished ahead of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, each polling at 1%, and Pataki and Santorum, who each received less than 0.5%.
Trump topped the field when GOP and GOP-leaning voters were asked who they definitely would not support for the nomination, with 21%, followed by Bush at 17% and Christie at 15%.
None surpass Clinton in head-to-head match-ups, with the general election more than a year away. Paul and Rubio come closest, with Paul winning 42% to Clinton’s 46%. Rubio manages 41% to Clinton’s 45%. Clinton enjoys advantages of seven points or more over Christie, Huckabee, Bush, Walker, Cruz and Trump, whom she would defeat by 18 points.
Pictured: Kasich campaigns in New Hampshire.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
