The University of Akron Bliss Institute Poll:
Baseline for the 2018 Election
The 2018 University of Akron Bliss Institute Poll finds voters nearly evenly divided in partisan terms as the 2018 campaign enters the final weeks. Key findings include:
- Ohioans are split nearly evenly on which party should be in charge of state government. This pattern differs from views on this issue in previous midterm elections going back to 2006.
- In terms of marquee races, Ohio voters are also evenly split on the gubernatorial candidates and the generic vote for the US House of Representatives. However, the Democratic candidate has a substantial lead in the US Senate race.
- Voters who favor either Republican or Democratic control of the Ohio government are as likely to be very interested in the 2018 election, to say they will vote in 2018, and to say that President Trump’s job performance will be very important to their vote in 2018.
- Overall, Ohio voters say that Ohio is on the “right track” and the country as a whole is on the “wrong track.” The latter—but not the former—closely match views on party control of Ohio government.
About The Survey
The 2018 University of Akron Poll was conducted by the Center for Marketing and Opinion Research for the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at The University of Akron. It was a random sample of 1,000 eligible Ohio voters conducted by telephone (with cell phone and web components) between September 10 and October 4, 2018, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. These data are compared to polls in 2006, 2010, and 2014; these surveys also have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.