CLEVELAND — With 20 days left to go until Election Day, a poll from Quinnipiac University shows former vice president Joe Biden and President Donald Trump in a dead heat in Ohio, though the current president’s favorability rating has slipped among Ohio voters since the last poll in September.
The poll among likely voters in Ohio shows 48% support Biden and 47% for Trump with 4% undecided. These results are identical to the last Quinnipiac survey released on Sept. 24, and the candidates are within the poll’s margin of error, making it a statistical dead heat.
This poll was conducted between Oct. 8 and 12. Another poll of Midwest states conducted by Baldwin Wallace University between Sept. 30 and Oct. 8 showed another statistical dead heat, but with Trump two points ahead of Biden — 47% for Trump versus 45% for Biden.
READ MORE: Ohio is a toss-up in new Baldwin Wallace presidential poll with Trump taking a slight lead
Biden’s favorability among Ohio voters has gone up slightly since September, but the state's voters are still very divided: 48% have a favorable view versus 47% with an unfavorable one, compared to 45% to 49% split last month.
Likely voters have a slightly more negative view of Trump; 46% favor him while 51% do not, virtually unchanged from the 45-51% split in September.
"Going down to the wire, it's a nail biter in Ohio four years after the Buckeye State delivered a decisive win for Donald Trump. Joe Biden and Trump remain locked in a race that is too close to call, and the needle hasn't budged with each candidate sitting exactly where they were in late September," said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Mary Snow.
Ohio voters were also asked whether they trust Trump and Biden to tell the truth to the American people about each man's health. In Trump’s case, 56% do not trust him versus 42% who do. Biden was trusted to tell the truth about his health by 51% of likely voters, while 45% did not trust him in this regard.
Quinnipiac also asked Ohio voters how they planned to vote. Forty-seven percent said they think they will vote in person on Election Day, 30% are planning to vote by mail or by absentee ballot, and 21% have cast or plan to cast their ballot at an early voting location.
Both the Quinnipiac and Baldwin University polls come as Trump is losing ground in key battleground states — including three other Midwest states — and both campaigns make their final campaign swings, such as they are in the time of coronavirus, to sway voters.
Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris will be traveling to Cleveland on Friday, their campaign announced Wednesday, and Vice President Mike Pence will be in Columbus on Monday.
These campaign stops more than two weeks after President Donald Trump campaigned in Dayton and Toledo, and after a contentious debate presidential debate in Cleveland late last month.
