Campaign manager Nick Buis released the following statement today:

“Polls will go up and down over the next nine months, but it is clear that Ohioans are responding to Ed FitzGerald because he does not believe the daily financial anxiety Ohio’s families have endured under John Kasich should be the new normal. As Governor and Lt. Governor, Ed and Sharen will ensure all Ohio’s families see their hard work pay off.”

Quinnipiac University, in survey results released Wednesday, released its latest poll of the Ohio governor’s race—and they show we continue to narrow the gap with Governor Kasich.   As of today, the race stands at Kasich 43-FitzGerald 38.  Some key takeaways from the poll:

• In June 2013, Kasich led 47-33%, as more Ohioans pay attention to the race, that lead has dwindled to 5.  For an incumbent governor with near universal name recognition, pulling 43% is a sign of absolute weakness.
• The poll did not include Libertarian Charlie Earl, who has been certified by the Ohio Secretary of State and will appear on the ballot.  In 2013, the Libertarian candidate for governor of Virginia won 6.5% of the vote.
• Today, only 46% of Ohioans say John Kasich deserves to be reelected, while 42% say he does not.  In June 2013, those numbers were 49-37%.
• On the economy, John Kasich receives the approval of 44% of Ohioans, to 40% who disapprove.  That compares to a June 2013 52-37% approval on the economy.
• Among voters who have an opinion about Ed, he has a +7% favorable rating; but with nearly 70% of voters unable to form an opinion, we have significant room to grow.
• Asked if John Kasich cares about the needs of people like them,  by a 47-43% margin voters disagree.

Later this morning, Ed will deliver the State of the County speech in Cuyahoga County, where he will share the incredible successes his administration has seen locally—the creation of a college savings account program for every child entering kindergarten in Cuyahoga County, a $100 million economic development program that is operated transparently and makes loans to companies who create living wage jobs, the expansion of public safety forces and a budget surplus used to restore funding to local governments and schools and many more.

As governor, Ed will bring the same common sense solutions to Columbus to fight for working families.  Your support over the last year has been instrumental in putting this campaign in such a strong position—and we look forward to working with you to restore integrity and fairness to Ohio state government in November.