Election 2004 Ohio

Survey of 500 Likely Voters March 14-16, 2004

Ohio: Kerry 45% Bush 41%

Ohio 2004 Presidential Ballot
Bush	41%
Kerry	45%
Other	4%
Not Sure	10%
RasmussenReports.com

Election 2004

March 18, 2004--In Ohio, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry leads President George W. Bush 45% to 41% as the election season begins.

Some commentators believe that Ohio may replace Florida as the key battleground state this year. This result, with the spread between the candidates smaller than the survey's 4.5 percentage point margin of error, does nothing to dispel that notion.

Four years ago, Bush narrowly defeated Al Gore in Ohio.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of all Ohio voters approve of the way Bush has performed his role as President. Forty-seven percent (47%) disapprove.

Just 32% of Ohio voters give the President good or excellent ratings for his handling of the economy. Eighteen percent (18%) say he is doing a fair job in this area while 47% say poor. Nationally, perceptions of the President's economic policies have improved since the Democratic Primary season ended. It is possible that it will take a bit longer in states like Ohio where the Democratic competition actually took place.

When it comes to National Defense and the War on Terror, 41% give the President good or excellent marks, 19% say fair, and 39% poor.

By a 48% to 36% margin, Ohio voters say they trust President Bush more than Senator Kerry on issues of national defense and the War on Terror. However, those numbers are reversed when it comes to managing the economy.

Bush is trusted more when it comes to gay marriage and gun control. Kerry is trusted more on creating new jobs.

On a national basis this time around, the Rasmussen Reports Presidential Election Tracking Poll has found Bush and Kerry virtually even for weeks. Our first wave of state-by-state polling is currently being released In California, Kerry leads by Bush by 9. In Florida, it's Kerry 48% Bush 45%. In Michigan, it's Kerry 48% Bush 44%. In Pennsylvania, Kerry leads a statistically insignificant margin, 45% to 44%.

The telephone survey of 500 Likely Voters in Ohio was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on March 14-16, 2004. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 4.5 percentage points, with a 95% level of confidence.