WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's approval rating in Ohio is slipping fast.
Just two months ago, Ohioans gave the president a 62-31 percent approval rating, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
In a Quinnipiac poll this week, Obama's approval had dropped to 49-44 percent.
Ohioans also disapproved of the way Obama is handling the economy by 48-46 percent; in May, Ohioans gave Obama high marks for the handling of the economy, with 57 approving and 36 percent disapproving.
"Voters are deciding he gets at least partial ownership of the economy," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "That's what's changed."
Obama's slumping numbers come even though Ohioans' attitudes toward the economy have stayed the same. Sixty-six percent of respondents said they are "somewhat dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied" with the way things are going in the state, virtually unchanged since Obama's election.
Brown said voters who once blamed George W. Bush for economic problems may now be taking out their frustration about the economy on Obama.
The poll also found Democrats Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner are virtually tied for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio. Fisher holds a 24-21 lead over Brunner, with 51 percent undecided.
On the Republican end, former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman holds a 33-10 percent lead over northern Ohio car dealer Tom Ganley, with 55 percent undecided. The poll also indicated Brunner and Fisher hold the narrowest of leads over Portman in a general election matchup.
The poll, of 1,259 Ohio voters, was taken from June 26 to July 1 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
Jessica Wehrman writes for the Dayton Daily News. E-mail: jwehrman(at)DaytonDailyNews.com.