Springer registers poll's highest unfavorable rating
By JOHN McCARTHY
The Associated Press
3/10/03 4:08 PM
URL:http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/news/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?o0281_BC_OH--OhioPoll-Springer&&news&newsflash-ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Talk show host Jerry Springer, who has said he might run for the U.S. Senate, scored the Ohio Poll's highest unfavorable rating in 14 years, the poll director said Monday.
Springer, a Democrat and former Cincinnati mayor, was found unfavorable by 71 percent of those surveyed. Thirteen percent had a favorable opinion while 14 percent knew little about Springer and 2 percent had not heard of him, the poll found.
Springer's unfavorable rating surpassed the 65 percent logged in 2000 by financier Donald Trump, who briefly considered a presidential run that year, poll director Eric Rademacher said. The Ohio Poll began tracking such numbers in 1989.
The poll of 638 registered voters was conducted by telephone by the University of Cincinnati's Institute for Policy Research. Interviews were not conducted on two days of the Feb. 7 through Feb. 23 polling period because of bad weather.
The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 4 percentage points. That margin was higher for subgroups, such as Democrats or Republicans only.
The Ohio Poll also found that Republican U.S. Sen. George Voinovich was favored in possible matchups over Springer 77 percent to 16 percent, and over state Sen. Eric Fingerhut, a Cleveland Democrat, 67 percent to 24 percent.
Springer, whose nationally syndicated show is known for its racy subjects and raunchy language, has said he might run next year against Voinovich, who is expected to seek a second six-year term.
He has been a featured speaker at recent Democratic fund-raisers. Springer and Fingerhut were scheduled to speak at a fund-raiser Tuesday night for the Montgomery County Democratic Party.
In direct competition, Voinovich was favored by 62 percent of the Democrats in the poll, compared with 29 percent for Springer. Fingerhut led Voinovich 51 percent to 34 percent among Democrats.
Springer did not return a phone call seeking comment on the poll. Voinovich declined to comment.
Fingerhut, a state senator since 1998 and a congressman from 1993-95, said his showing was about what he would expect, since he just last month announced his candidacy and has never run statewide before. He said Springer's career has been inconsistent with the ideals of the Democratic Party.
"I've made my view clear about his candidacy and this just shows me the voters agree with my view," Fingerhut said.
Even though the general election is about a year and a half away, interest in possible matchups made it an ideal time to poll, Rademacher said. |
