Cincinnati Enquirer…
Majority approve of Kasich's job performance
Paul E. Kostyu
Sep. 24, 2012 

COLUMBUS — A majority of Ohio likely voters approve of the job Gov. John R. Kasich is doing, according to a new Enquirer/Ohio Newspaper Organization poll. 

His 52 percent rating is 3 points better than the percentage of Ohioans who voted for him in 2010. It’s the first time any poll has put his number above the 50 percent mark. In July 2011, it was 35 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll. 

At least 30 percent of Ohio Democrats approve of the job he is doing, the poll showed. On the other hand, the poll also found 15 percent of Republicans disapprove of the governor’s job performance. 

Of those surveyed, 54 percent disagreed with Kasich’s plan to keep the state’s growing so-called rainy day fund untouched. The majority, especially women and independents, want the money used to fix state budget cuts. 

Robert G. Merkle, 82, of Springfield, who voted for Kasich’s opponent, then-Gov. Ted Strickland, in 2010, admits he’s been surprised by Kasich. 

Merkle thought the governor “would hack away at the benefits for the poor and disabled. Instead, he cut the state aid to the cities and the schools.” 

He called that “a good thing because all these matching funds local governments tend to regard as free money. And they use it for bigger and larger programs. 

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