Poll: J.D. Vance Takes the Lead in Ohio Republican U.S. Senate Primary 

J.D. Vance is the leading candidate in the Ohio Republican U.S. Senate primary, according to a recently released poll.

A Fox News survey found that 23 percent of Ohio Republican primary voters support Vance, which is five points ahead of the next leading candidate. Josh Mandel received 18 percent support in the latest poll, and Mike Gibbons earned 13 percent support. Ohio State Sen. Matt Dolan received 11 percent support, and Jane Timken received six percent.

However, 25 percent of GOP primary voters in Ohio remain undecided. Vance has a good chance of earning support from those undecided voters because they view him as the most likable candidate. Vance has a +14 percent net favorable rating among undecided voters. Mandel follows closely behind him with a +12 percent net favorable rating.

Of those voters who have chosen a candidate, Vance has a +29 favorable rating. The next closest favorable candidate is Dolan, who has a +21 percent favorable rating.

Vance’s 23 percent support is up by 12 points since Fox News’s last survey in March. Since the last survey, Mandel lost two percent support, and Gibbons lost nine percent. Vance’s jump in the polls can likely be attributed to his recent endorsement by former President Donald Trump.

In fact, 42 percent of primary voters said Trump’s endorsement made them more supportive of Vance. However, 23 percent of voters said it made them less supportive. An additional 27 percent said Trump’s endorsement made no difference.

Trump said Vance “is the most likely to take out the weak, but dangerous, Democrat opponent.”

“The race is obviously close, and this is clearly a case in which an endorsement has made a difference,” Fox News pollster Daron Shaw said. “With support spread out among five candidates who are pretty similar in policy terms, the bump that comes with Trump’s blessing is enough to jump Vance to the head of the pack.”

The poll, which surveyed 906 Ohio GOP primary voters, was conducted between April 20 and April 24. The poll’s margin of error is ± three percent.