Ohio, the key state in the 2004 presidential election, is turning blue in the 2008 campaign, with Democratic candidates winning 11 of 12 matchups with Republican contenders, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner has opened a 47 40 percent lead over her GOP counterpart, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, up from a 43 43 percent tie in an August 8 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.
In other possible 2008 presidential matchups:
Clinton tops Arizona Sen. John McCain 46 41 percent;
Clinton beats former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson 49 37 percent;
Clinton bests former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 50 37 percent;
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama gets 42 percent to Giulianis 41 percent, but gets 41 percent to McCains 42 percent;
Obama tops Thompson 46 34 percent and beats Romney 46 32 percent;
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards beats Giuliani 47 38 percent; tops McCain
46 38 percent; tops Thompson 50 32 percent and bests Romney 50 30 percent.
In the primary contests, Clinton now holds a 44 15 percent lead over Obama among Democrats with John Edwards at 11 percent and former Vice President Al Gore at 8 percent.
The only one of the dozen match ups between the leading candidates on both sides of the aisle in which a Republican came out ahead was Sen. McCain who held a statistically insignificant 42 41 percent lead over Sen. Obama.
We have been seeing a gradual shift toward the Democrats in Ohio this year, but these numbers show that the tide has turned in this traditionally Republican-leaning state. Of course we have 14 months until the election, but at this point the Republicans are playing catch-up in a state they would be very hard pressed to win the White House without.
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1284.xml?ReleaseID=1102&What=&strArea=;&strTime=0