Sherrod Brown (D-inc): 47 (51)
Kevin Coughlin (R): 33 (30)
Undecided: 20 (19)Sherrod Brown (D-inc): 47 (49)
Jim Jordan (R): 35 (31)
Undecided: 18 (20)Sherrod Brown (D-inc): 48 (48)
Josh Mandel (R): 33 (31)
Undecided: 19 (21)Sherrod Brown (D-inc): 46
Jim Tressel (R): 34
Undecided: 20
(MoE: ±3.5%)
Public Policy Polling found a few points worth of erosion for Barack Obama in their most recent poll of the Buckeye State (he's down to 44/52 approvals and a 2-point lead over Mitt Romney). In today's release, it's clear that some of that is rubbing off on Sherrod Brown, Ohio's Democratic senior senator who'll be sharing the 2012 ballot with Obama. Perhaps most noteworthy, Brown is down to 37/34 approvals (leaving 28 percent unsure), down from a pretty solid 39/28 three months ago.
Like Obama, though, Brown benefits from opponents who aren't well-known, and aren't liked by the people who know them: state Treasurer Josh Mandel (14/20 favorables) and former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin (5/19 favorables). That leaves Brown leading both of them by wide margins. He does a little less well, but still wins by double digits, against two hypothetical candidates: one is Rep. Jim Jordan (who has said that he's unlikely to run, although he might find himself looking for a promotion, if, as rumored, he gets the short end of the redistricting stick for crossing John Boehner during the debt limit standoff). The other is recently departed Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, who's also looking for something new to do ... although PPP's decision to poll him is the first time I've ever heard him associated with a run for any office. (Tressel is, in fact, the most popular person polled here, at 39/27.) While this poll shows that Brown can't defy gravity and his popularity is linked with broader Democratic fortunes, it also shows that things would really have to start going kerflooey before he starts looking seriously endangered.