Gibbons, Mandel lead Ohio GOP Senate primary field: poll

Mike Gibbons and Josh Mandel lead the Ohio GOP Senate primary field as Republicans battle for the chance to run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Rob Portman (R), according to a poll released Tuesday.

The Fox News poll shows Gibbons, an investment banker, leading the field with 22 percent support among GOP primary voters. Mandel, a former state treasurer, trails just behind with 20 percent, a difference that falls within the survey’s margin of error. “Hillbilly Elegy” author JD Vance is in third with 11 percent, followed by former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken at 9 percent and state Sen. Matt Dolan at 7 percent. 

In a sign of how in flux the primary remains, 24 percent of primary voters said they remain undecided.

The poll is the latest in a string of surveys showing Gibbons slingshotting to the top of the field. After being stuck in the middle of the field for months, Gibbons surged to the lead in a The Hill/Emerson College poll released last month and an internal poll conducted by a pro-Vance super PAC released earlier this month.

Gibbons’s polling spike is likely in part due to an advertising blitz that he’s largely funded with millions of his own money.

Mandel, meanwhile, has consistently polled at or near the top of the field. 

The latest survey also shows that high-profile endorsements for Timken in recent weeks, including from Portman and Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), have yet to make much impact.

Donald Trump has not yet endorsed in the race but has met with several of the candidates, nearly all of whom are chasing his support in statements and ads casting them as the closest ally of the former president. A Trump endorsement would likely shake up the field and could even push some contenders out of the race. 

The Fox News poll surveyed 918 Ohio GOP primary voters from March 2-6 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.