New Poll Shows Driehaus in Peril
| Former Rep. Steve Chabot (R) holds a strong double-digit lead over Rep. Steve Driehaus (D) in Ohio’s battleground 1st district, according to a new poll released Sunday by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
With a month to go until Election Day, Chabot leads Driehaus 53 percent to 41 percent, with 4 percent going to third-party candidates and 2 percent undecided. The automated telephone survey of 594 likely voters was conducted by SurveyUSA on Sept. 28 and 29. It had a 4.1-point margin of error. Chabot, who held the 1st district for seven terms before losing to Driehaus last cycle, had a 20-point lead among independent voters and even managed to pick up 12 percent of Democrats, according to the new survey. Driehaus does do extremely well among black voters: They prefer him by a 42-point margin. But SurveyUSA estimates that black voters will compose just 16 percent of the electorate in November, which is nearly 10 points less than the black population of the 1st district. Elsewhere in Ohio, Republican candidates got a boost from a pair of the biggest newspapers in the state. On Sunday, the Columbus Dispatch endorsed former state Sen. Steve Stivers (R) over Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D) in the 15th district. Republicans view the 15th district as one of their top pickup opportunities this cycle. The Columbus Dispatch also endorsed Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R) in the 12th district, which Democrats occasionally make noise about targeting. Last week, the Columbus Dispatch endorsed Rob Portman (R) in the state’s Senate race against Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D). On Sunday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer also endorsed Portman. |