A poll released Friday of likely voters in the Ohio Republican Senate primary race provided more bad news for venture capitalist and author JD Vance.
A Coefficient poll of 613 likely voters found businessman Mike Gibbons leading a crowd of six candidates with 20% support and former state treasurer Josh Mandel in second with 18% support. The two other candidates who have received major media attention, former state Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken and Vance, were in fourth and fifth with 6% and 5% support, respectively. The poll, conducted from Feb. 6-8, had a margin of error of 3.9%.
NEW: @coefficientpoll (R)
2022 #OHSen GOP Primary
Mike Gibbons 20%
Josh Mandel 18%
Matt Dolan 7%
Jane Timken 6%
J.D. Vance 5%
Mark Pukita 1%
Someone Else 9%
Undecided 34%613 LV | 2/6-2/8https://t.co/R2vaOAztZM
— PPUSA (@PollProjectUSA) February 11, 2022
Coefficient has a B rating on FiveThirtyEight.
Tony Fabrizio, a pollster who has been working for the pro-Vance Protect Ohio Values Super PAC, warned Monday that the “Hillbilly Elegy” author is perceived by many primary voters as too anti-Trump to gain their support. The Club for Growth, which supports Mandel, has run an ad campaign highlighting Vance’s work as a contributor at CNN and opposition to then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election.
Vance has touted endorsements from Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. (RELATED: Rep. Stefanik Endorses Jane Timken In Crowded Ohio Senate Race)
A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
A December poll by The Trafalgar Group found Mandel in first place with 21% support and Vance in second with 15% support. That poll was conducted just before Gibbons launched a $10 million ad campaign. Gibbons, an investment banker, has loaned his campaign more than $11.4 million.
“I am incredibly excited that our message of preserving the American dream is resonating with Ohio voters. As I travel the state, I am hearing from hardworking Ohioans that they want a true America First conservative to represent them in Washington. I am humbled that a growing number of Ohioans are putting their faith in me to be their next U.S. senator,” Gibbons told the Daily Caller.
Rep. Tim Ryan, who is fundraising with the help of Hillary Clinton, is the likely Democratic nominee.