(The Center Square) – A week away from an Ohio primary to pick a Republican challenger for Sherrod Brown in the U.S. Senate, more than a quarter-million votes have been cast.
The most recent SurveyUSA poll by The Center for Election Science shows Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno with a 2-point lead over state Sen. Matt Dolan 29%-27%. Secretary of State Frank LaRose received 21% support. However, 23% of respondents were undecided.
Moreno plans a Saturday rally with former President Donald Trump, while Gov. Mike DeWine endorsed Dolan late Monday night. It’s the first poll since mid-December. LaRose fell into third.
Tuesday is the last day voters can request an absentee ballot from their local election boards.
LaRose’s most recent voting numbers showed nearly 250,000 absentee ballots had been requested, and 131,613 had been cast statewide.
Democrats requested 107,789 absentee ballots, and Republicans asked for 124,970 ballots.
More than 70,000 had voted early in person, with 42,875 of those Republicans, 27,631 Democrats and 1,128 non-partisan.
There are 8 million registered voters in the state.
The primary also includes nominees for president. In addition to Trump the Republican presidential ballot includes four who have ended or suspended their campaigns: Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy.
President Joe Biden is joined on the Democratic primary ballot by U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, though the latter has dropped out.
The primary also includes a few races for nominations for congressional and Statehouse seats, along with local issues and local government position nominees.
