Poll Finds Most Ohioans Oppose DeWine’s Gas Tax Proposal

A new poll shows that Ohioans overwhelmingly oppose Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposal for an 18-cent gas-tax increase.

DeWine has called the 18-cent increase a “minimalist, conservative approach” and the “absolute bare minimum we need to protect our families and our economy,” but Ohioans disagree.

According a statewide poll released Tuesday by Baldwin Wallace University, just 6.5 percent of Ohioans “strongly support” an 18-cent gas-tax hike while another 23 percent “support” the proposal. However, 32 percent said they oppose the increase, and another 23 percent are “strongly” opposed.

Ohioans are more evenly divided on the issue of abortion. According to the poll, 41 percent of respondents either strongly support or support the heartbeat bill currently being considering by the Ohio Legislature, which would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detectable in unborn children. Forty-three percent, however, either oppose or strongly oppose the bill.

The poll then switched topics to the issue of gun control and found that a whopping 73 percent of Ohioans support introducing mandatory waiting periods for all gun purchases in the state. Another 55 percent are in favor of imposing a statewide ban on the “manufacture, sale, and possession” of all high-powered semi-automatic rifles.

Participants in the poll were also asked about the opioid crisis, and 54 percent said they have either personally struggled with an opioid addiction or have a family member, friend, or acquaintance who has. Thirty-nine percent believe that Narcan, a drug that can reverse overdoses of prescription painkillers or heroin, should be available without a prescription.

For the 2020 U.S. presidential election, 43 percent said they would prefer a Democratic candidate, compared to the 30 percent who said they would prefer to have President Donald Trump reelected. Eleven percent, however, said they wouldn’t prefer either one, and 15 percent were still unsure.

Thirty-four percent said that health care is the most important issue, followed by drug abuse (27.6 percent) and the economy and jobs (27.4 percent).

The full results of the poll can be read here.

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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mike DeWine” by JohnTuturrosSliderule. CC BY-SA 4.0.