Washington, DC – A new poll of likely voters in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, commissioned by End Citizens United (ECU) and conducted by PPP, shows a race within the margin of error in the special election. Democrat Danny O’Connor trails Republican Troy Balderson by four points, 48-44. Notably, among those who said they were certain to vote, O’Connor is up 47-46.
Click here to read the polling memo.
After voters heard a message highlighting Danny O’Connor’s refusal to take contributions from corporate special interests and Troy Balderson’s acceptance of those contributions, O’Connor picks up three points, closing the race to a single digit. Among Ohioans certain to vote, O’Connor extends his lead to 49-46.
“Voters in the district are fed up with Washington ignoring their needs and they’re hungry for reform, which is exactly what Danny is offering,” said ECU President Tiffany Muller. “Danny’s rejection of corporate PAC money, combined with his message of fixing the rigged system is enhancing his grassroots support in the district. We’re looking forward to next week’s election and sending another reformer to Congress.”
PPP surveyed 617 Ohio voters from July 27-29. The margin of error is +/- 4%.
The poll comes on the heels of ECU’s announcement that its grassroots memberscontributed $100,000 in small-dollar donations directly to O’Connor’s campaign. ECU worked with O’Connor to announce his decision to reject corporate PAC money. The campaign finance reform group recently exposed Troy Balderson’s acceptance of over $120,000 in corporate PAC contributions.
ECU’s grassroots network has been at the forefront in the 2017 and 2018 special elections. In the special election in PA-18, ECU was the first national group to endorse Conor Lamb, and worked with his campaign to build a grassroots network of small-dollar donors and volunteers, raising $300,000 directly for the campaign. In the AZ-08 special election, ECU’s members donated over $225,000 for Hiral Tipirneni’s campaign, averaging $8 per contribution. ECU also played an important role in the Alabama special election, endorsing Doug Jones early on and raising over $600,000 in small-dollar donations for his campaign.
# # #