Gov & US Sen: Strickland (D) and DeWine (R) Lead in New Poll

Faminehorse at Psychobilly Democrat has just posted the results of a new poll from the University of Cincinnati:

Governor:
Ted Strickland (D) 50
Ken Blackwell (R) 44
Other 2
Undecided 5

U.S. Senate:
Mike DeWine (R) 52
Sherrod Brown (D) 42
Other 1
Undecided 5

These results contrast sharply with the last Rasmussen poll, which showed Strickland with a 16 point lead and DeWine trailing Brown by 3 points.

UPDATE: The Cleveland Plain Dealer "blog" Openers looks a little deeper, noting that Strickland and Brown both trail their rivals in name recognition, and despite his labor backing Brown trails DeWine in union households 54-43. Democracy Guy is all over it.

2nd UPDATE: The AP story on this poll, as reported in the Akron Beacon Journal, takes a closer look at the favorability ratings:

When asked whether they had a positive opinion of the candidates, people of all parties gave Strickland a 10 percent favorability rating. Blackwell's was lower at just 3 percent, fueled by a heavy unfavorable sentiment among registered Democrats. The rating measures the percentage difference between voters with positive and negative opinions of the candidate.

DeWine was viewed most positively, receiving a 15 percent favorability rating, compared to 7 percent for Brown.

The poll also revealed a significant lack of information about the candidates among registered voters. Forty-five percent of voters surveyed - and particularly independents - said they know too little about Blackwell to judge him. Fifty-one percent said they still need more information about Strickland, with only those in his southeastern Ohio congressional district claiming adequate knowledge.

3rd UPDATE: Okay, so now I've studied the internal numbers myself and this is what jumps out at me:

* Among African-American voters, Strickland leads Blackwell 55% to 32%, less than Brown's lead over DeWine among this group (67% to 17%), with a relatively large 13% undecided in each race. However, Blackwell's favorability rating among African-American respondents is -13 (26% to 39%), while Strickland's is even (12% to 12%), and notice how many fewer responded at all as to Strickland. Strickland has work to do, but there's plenty of hope here.

* Strickland leads Blackwell among Independents 46% to 27%, and among Moderates 47% to 36%. That's huge. Brown trails among Independents 38% to 47%, and among Moderates 31% to 57%.

* Unfortunately for Brown, DeWine's numbers don't show as much of a problem with his ideological base as I would expect. DeWine's support among Conservatives is 67%, only four points lower than Brown's support among Liberals (71%).

* Brown leads 50% to 43% among those 65 or older. He trails by 6% among those 46 to 64, and by double-digits among those in younger brackets. However, this is a poll of registered voters, not likely voters, and older voters are more reliable.

* Brown is merely tied in his geographic base of NE Ohio (47% to 47%), but leads in SE Ohio (53% to 44%), while trailing elsewhere, especially in DeWine's SW Ohio base (34% to 61%). What's the deal with SE Ohio -- is it a Strickland effect?