Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) has closed a six-point gap with celebrity hotelier Donald Trump in his home state and is now tied with the Republican presidential frontrunner there, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Monday.
The poll showed support for Kasich and Trump in Ohio tied at 38 percent, massively outstripping Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), at 16 percent and Marco Rubio (R-FL) at 3 percent. This indicates little change for Trump since the previous Quinnipiac poll in the state, which was taken at the start of the month and also showed him polling at 38 percent.
Kasich, by contrast, has enjoyed a substantial boost—he previously stood at 32 percent—that allowed him to eliminate the lead Trump enjoyed in Ohio since the fall. Cruz’s position remained unchanged since the previous poll, while Rubio plummeted further from a paltry showing of 9 percent.
TPM’s PollTracker Average shows Trump and Kasich tied in the state at 36.3 percent, followed by Cruz at 19.7 percent and Rubio at 3.7 percent.
The Quinnipiac poll was carried out from March 8-13 using live telephone interviews. Pollsters surveyed 721 Ohioans likely to vote in the Republican primary, with a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.
