PD Poll: Voinovich has big lead on Fingerhut

[Kolesar]

Voinovich has big lead on Fingerhut
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Incumbent U.S. Sen. George Voinovich leads Democratic challenger Eric Fingerhut by 31 percentage points, a new poll by The Plain Dealer shows.

Voters surveyed say they favor Voinovich over Fingerhut, 55 percent to 24 percent. Twenty-one percent are undecided.


Voinovich, who has a huge fund-raising advantage over Fingerhut, also enjoys a comfortable lead in name recognition, the poll shows.

While 8 percent of those surveyed say they don't recognize Voinovich's name, 48 percent say they don't recognize Fingerhut's name.

- Mark Naymik
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/108590961943840.xml

There goes that name recognition thing again.

[WLKjr]

1. I'll vouch for that

Voinovich has name recognizition as a former governor, and I haven't heard anything about Fingerhut except in emails from the Ohio Dem's. Frankly, I haven't heard much about either of them at all and this race for senate.

[truhavoc]

2. Also look at the source

The plain dealer has a weekend poll over the holiday that has bush winning by 7 percentage points over kerry

[Kolesar]

3. Yes, I saw that poll too!

PD even mentioned that the Cincinnati newspaper poll was an anomaly to all the other polls where Bush led.

Hey, Eric still has five months, and Voinovich isn't getting any prettier (nor his GOP brothers).

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

8. Might be using Likely Voters

If I recall the standard correctly, likely voters are those who voted in the last (or last several election cycles). That leaves out all newly-registered voters, which are overwhelming Democratic this year because of the activities of ACT and Moveon.org. I think a poll all adults (for once) will be more accurate.

[FatSlob]

4. I've not even seen his name in print in Cincy.

Maybe he is a sacrificial lamb candidate? IIRC, he was elected to Congress, then lost the next election, then became a State Senator, right?

[Kolesar]

5. That was the sequence

Eric Fingerhut was defeated in 1994 by Steven Latourette with lots of funding from ultra right winger Fred Lennon and support from the religious, antiabortion types. That was a bad year for Dems as the Gingerich revolution was ascendant.

I never hesitate to mention that Christian hypocrite Latourette divorced his wife of ~18 years after cheating on her with a lobbyist from DC.

[fossaceca]

6. Sacrificial Lamb? NO WAY!

As a lifelong Ohio Democrat who has seen one "sacrificial lamb" after another over the past twelve years, let me say to you clearly, and without hesitation, that Eric Fingerhut is no sacrificial lamb. He is running for the United States Senate in 2004. And running to win.

Not for some other office down the road.
Not as a favor to fill an empty spot on the ballot.
He's running to win NOW!

I know this because I've seen him working his ass off the last year. I saw him out in the rain this weekend traveling across the southern part of the state. This guy is finishing up a BOOK on how to get Ohio and the nation moving ahead. Not a pamphlet. Not a position paper. A BOOK! With 50 real ideas - not rehashed drivel and sound bites. This isn't what candidates do when they are going through the motions.

Trust me, I about spit my coffee across the kitchen when I opened the PD on Sunday, but you know what? I dug in harder. Voinovich's lead is not as strong as it should be for a well-known incumbent. Once Fingerhut's name recognition starts building you'll see dramatic shifts in those numbers. Believe it. In fact, I'll challenge you all to come see what I'm talking about. Get involved in this race. Go to the homepage of www.fingerhutforsenate.com and find your local coordinator. Don't have one? Contact me directly at [e-mail]. A little hard work in this race will make a major impact. I wouldn't be wasting my time if I didn't think this was the race to be in. Watch us make history.

Anthony

[Kolesar]

7. I like your spirit, tenderfoot

Don't get too excited about the riparte' in the message board.

I hope I get a chance to read the candidate's book when it comes out. It has been tough to find the time.