A recent poll for the campaign of former Rep. Steve Chabot (R) gave him a 14-point lead over Rep. Steve Driehaus (D) in their rematch.
Public Opinion Strategies said in a memo Monday that it polled 400 likely voters in the Cincinnati-based 1st district on May 12-13 and found that 53 percent preferred Chabot and 39 percent preferred Driehaus.
It said 34 percent of voters indicated the Congressman deserves re-election, and 49 percent said it’s time for someone new.
“Not only is the political environment providing the wind at Steve Chabot’s back, but Congressman Driehaus’ vote in support of health care reform has rubbed voters in this conservative district the wrong way,” POS pollster Neil Newhouse wrote.
A January poll that SurveyUSA conducted for the website Firedoglake had Chabot ahead of Driehaus by 17 points.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Driehaus have signaled they will bring up Chabot’s support for most major policies of former President George W. Bush.
“I will compare Bush to Obama any day of the week,” Driehaus said recently.
In 2008, Driehaus unseated Chabot, then a seven-term House Member, by 5 points.
Republicans Will Get Recount in 18th District
A recount will be needed to officially determine a Republican opponent for Rep. Zack Space (D).
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) ordered the recount Tuesday, after a canvass of votes in the 16 counties within the 18th district had state Sen. Bob Gibbs leading former Ohio Agriculture Director Fred Dailey by 156 votes out of 52,700 cast. That works out to 20.94 percent of the vote for Gibbs and 20.65 percent for Dailey in a race that included six other candidates.
Under Ohio law, recounts are required when the margin of victory is less than half of 1 point.
Gibbs’ campaign said it was confident the victory would stand, given that recounts rarely shift many votes in an era of electronic balloting.
Dailey has not conceded the race.
Meanwhile, Space has $1.3 million ready to use against whichever Republican gets on the November ballot.
Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
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