Quinnipiac Poll Has Obama Up 5 in OH

 It appears that the 2012 polling has already begun and President Barack Obama is in a strange position in Ohio. He is less popular than he was when he was elected in 2008 but still leads a potential Republican challenger. Obama has a slightly positive approval rating in the state, as well.

This poll is from Quinnipiac, which has an average reputation for accuracy, less accurate than Rasmussen but far more than CBS or ABCNews. This seems to be just the first in what will be very, very many state polls conducted before election day next year.

First, his approval rating:


Approve: 49%
Disapprove: 46%
Other/no opinion: 5%

In 2008 Obama won 51.5% of the vote against John McCain's 46.9%. In that race, Obama spent more than four million more dollars in advertising than McCain.

The public's view of him is interesting:

...37 percent of voters say Obama is too liberal and 7 percent say he is too conservative, while 46 percent say he is "about right."

This year, he is leading a generic Republican candidate, but with much less of the vote share than he had last time around.

Obama: 44%
Generic Republican: 39%
Other/und: 17%

Notice the high level of undecided voters. Apparently, although not terribly happy with Obama, many are waiting to see who the Republican nominee is. It seems like that will be the next step in the race.

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