Trump-backed Republican Bernie Moreno and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) are running neck and neck in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, according to a pair of polls published Thursday.
A Washington Post poll conducted by Braun Research finds that 47 percent of the likely voter respondents back Moreno, a political outsider and businessman. He sits just one point behind Brown, at 48 percent.
One percent of the respondents will not vote, while a critical three percent are undecided, with Election Day less than one month out.
Most of the likely voters in the Buckeye State, 51 percent, want to see Republicans take a Senate majority, while 42 percent hope Democrats maintain a majority.
Moreno has a narrow lead with independents, 48 percent to 47 percent, but Brown has more robust support among Republicans (12 percent) than Moreno does among Democrats (2 percent).
Respondents were asked to rate each issue’s importance in deciding which candidate to back. The economy drew the most “extremely” important responses at 55 percent, followed by immigration (46 percent), crime and safety (45 percent), health care (44 percent), taxes (42 percent), and abortion (41 percent).
The survey sample consists of 1,002 voters interviewed between October 3 and 7, and the margin of error (MOE) is ± 3.5 percent.
A separate Marist College poll, also conducted October 3-7, showed Brown with a slight two-point edge on Moreno. Brown garnered 50 percent of the likely voter response to Moreno’s 48 percent, with another 2 percent undecided.
This poll breaks with the Washington Post‘s figures regarding independent voters. While that poll has Moreno with a slight edge, Brown has an 11-point advantage with unaffiliated voters in the Marist survey (54 percent to 43 percent). This poll also shows Brown winning nine percent of Republicans, while Moreno peels off two percent of Democrats.
Marist College sampled 1,327 likely voters, and the MOE is ± 3.2 percentage points.
These polls indicate Moreno is closing in on Brown compared to a New York Times/Siena College poll and a Bowling Green State University Democracy and Public Policy Research Network/YouGov poll published in September, which gave Brown four-point leads.
RELATED: U.S. Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno Lists Top Priorities of a GOP-Controlled Senate
Jack Knudsen / Breitbart News