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Ohio Senate Race Remains Tight

Ohio Senate Race Remains Tight

By Kyle Trygstad - August 4, 2010

Despite fundraising and political landscape advantages, Ohio Republican Senate nominee Rob Portman has so far been unable to pull away from Democrat Lee Fisher. A new Rasmussen poll finds Portman ahead by just 4 points and still under 50% support -- little change in the last two months.

Both have spent a similar amount of money this cycle -- about $3.8 million each -- but neither campaign has jumped out to any sort of significant and consistent lead, or been able to secure support outside of the low 40s. This poll found Portman with 44%, Fisher with 40% and 11% undecided.

After a contentious primary, Fisher still has not won over the Democratic base. Just 69% of Democrats said they support him, compared with 85% of Republicans who back Portman. The Republican also holds a 20-point lead among unaffiliated voters.

More than a quarter of voters say they still don't know enough about Portman to hold an opinion of him. With nearly $9 million stored up as of the end of June, Portman clearly has the resources to change that. Fisher reported having $1.3 million.

The two are running to replace retiring Republican George Voinovich, and this is one of several competitive open Senate seat races around the country.

The survey of 750 likely voters was conducted Aug. 2 with a 4% margin of error.

Kyle Trygstad is a Washington correspondent for RealClearPolitics. Email him at: kyle@realclearpolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTrygstad.

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